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CLEARWATER — Mary and Steve Szafranski have always tried to protect their daughter Taylor, who has a low IQ and at age 8 was diagnosed with cognitive impairment.
But the couple didn't realize they were at a disadvantage until this summer, when a man three decades older started taking an interest in Taylor Szafranski, now 19.
The man had seen the teen at a car show she attended with relatives. He asked for her phone number and started calling and texting often. Mary Szafranski even saw him driving around her Clearwater neighborhood one day.
Szafranski and her husband pleaded for the man to leave their daughter alone, explaining Taylor's circumstances and making it clear they were uncomfortable with his intentions.
"He didn't seem to care," said Mary Szafranski, 45. "He wanted to date her. He kept saying we had to let go and that we couldn't do anything because she was over 18."
The law was not on their side.
Mary Szafranski said when she tried to file a restraining order on her daughter's behalf, the courts told her she didn't have the legal authority.
For that, she would need to become her daughter's official guardian.
"I was just desperate, calling everybody," Mary Szafranski said.
Experts say the Szafranski's story isn't that uncommon.
Many people with developmentally disabled family members don't know much about the guardianship process or alternatives to it.
"This is a prime example of what we've been hearing for years," said Latarsha Williams, who works at the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. "We're trying to change that."
For the past three years, officials at the council, which is funded by federal money, have facilitated workshops about guardianship issues and options for families.
The final workshops, which are free, will take place this weekend in Tampa.
Today, council officials will be educating local attorneys and judges on guardianship. Saturday will be for families and individuals.
Options for guardianship are varied, Williams said. Some forms strip a person of virtually all of his or her rights, while others allow the person benefits that make it possible for independent living.
"Parents don't even realize the full ramifications of guardianship," she said. "We really want to stress that as a last option."
The Szafranskis chose a limited form of guardianship for their daughter, who lives with them and cannot drive.
They had to hire a lawyer to navigate the process, which cost about $2,000.
Now they want to get the word out for other families of developmentally disabled children who may not know they might have to make a decision about guardianship one day.
"All the specialists we saw as she was growing up … nobody prepared us," Mary Szafranski said. "Who would have thought that we would not be able to protect our own child?"
Kameel Stanley can be reached at kstanley@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8643.
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