[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2881 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2881
To assist States in improving guardianship oversight and data
collection.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 28, 2021
Ms. Collins (for herself and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To assist States in improving guardianship oversight and data
collection.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Guardianship Accountability Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) An estimated 1,300,000 adults and approximately
$50,000,000,000 in assets are under the care of guardians in
the United States.
(2) Most guardians are selfless, dedicated individuals who
play an important role in safeguarding individuals in need of
support. However, unscrupulous guardians acting with little
oversight have used guardianship proceedings to obtain control
of individuals in need of support.
(3) Once a guardianship is imposed, there are often few
safeguards in place to protect against individuals who choose
to abuse the system and few States are able to report accurate
or detailed guardianship data.
(4) A full guardianship order may remove more rights than
necessary and thus may not be the best means of providing
support and protection to an individual. If individuals subject
to guardianship regain capacity, all or some rights should be
quickly and efficiently restored.
(5) States should encourage courts to use alternatives to
guardianship through State statutes, including the adoption of
the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective
Arrangements Act, to ensure better protections and control for
individuals being considered for guardianship and those
pursuing a restoration of their rights.
(6) A national resource center on guardianship is needed to
collect and publish information for the benefit of courts,
policy makers, individuals subject to guardianship, guardians,
community organizations, and other stakeholders.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to help States improve
guardianship oversight and data collection by--
(1) designating a National Resource Center on Guardianship;
(2) authorizing grants for the purpose of developing State
Guardianship Databases; and
(3) establishing procedures for sharing background check
information related to appointed guardians with other
jurisdictions.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Guardianship.--The term ``guardianship'' means a legal
relationship established by a court when a person is determined
to lack the ability to meet essential requirements for physical
health, safety, or self-care because the person is unable to
receive and evaluate information or make or communicate
decisions about their person or property, even with appropriate
supportive services, technological assistance, supported
decision making, or other less restrictive alternatives.
(2) Individuals subject to guardianship.--The term
``individuals subject to guardianship'' means any individual 18
years or older placed under a guardianship.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON GUARDIANSHIP.
(a) Designation.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
establish a National Resource Center on Guardianship (referred to in
this section as the ``Center'').
(b) The National Resource Center on Guardianship.--The National
Resource Center shall--
(1) collect and publish information for use by individuals
subject to guardianship, guardians, courts, State and local
governments, and community organizations;
(2) post model standards, best practices, and guidelines
for the appointment and regulation of guardianship cases
developed under section 505 of the Elder Abuse Prevention and
Prosecution Act (34 U.S.C. 21752);
(3) promote the use of less restrictive alternatives to
guardianship, including supported decision making and the
restoration of rights of individuals subject to guardianship;
(4) annually compile and publish a summary of recently
conducted research on guardianship systems and efforts to
expand less restrictive alternatives, including information
from agencies across the government;
(5) collect data from States regarding--
(A) the number of individuals subject to
guardianship;
(B) the duration of guardianships;
(C) whether the authority granted to guardians is
classified as--
(i) full guardianship;
(ii) limited guardianship;
(iii) emergency or temporary guardianship;
or
(iv) a less restrictive alternative to
guardianship;
(D) the amount of financial assets under
guardianship; and
(E) whether an appointed guardian is classified as
a--
(i) family or other nonprofessional
guardian;
(ii) private or professional guardian or
guardianship agencies; or
(iii) public guardian;
(6) maintain a public, national database on State laws
regarding guardianship and less restrictive alternatives to
guardianship, including requirements for the--
(A) use of least restrictive alternative;
(B) regular filing and documentation by appointed
guardians;
(C) oversight of appointed guardians;
(D) restoration of rights of individuals subject to
guardianship; and
(E) oversight of potential conflicts of interest
among individuals and organizations involved in
guardianship applications, appointments, and oversight;
(7) identify issues relating to guardianship and provide
and publish annual recommendations to States and Congress to
address identified problems;
(8) collect and analyze best practices relating to
guardianship, and publish a report of such best practices,
including model guidelines and standards for--
(A) ensuring appropriate representation and
protection of legal rights for individuals subject to
guardianship and guardianship proceedings;
(B) conducting background check investigations on
prospective and appointed guardians;
(C) promoting the use of less restrictive
alternatives to guardianship, including supported
decision making;
(D) obtaining restoration of all or some rights;
(E) implementing oversight programs; and
(F) responding to abuse, neglect, and exploitation;
(9) compile and publish training materials for court
appointed guardians related to duties and obligations, as well
as ways in which to effectively support individuals subject to
guardianship and to use less restrictive alternatives to
guardianships;
(10) facilitate State collection of guardianship
information and the sharing of such information among States
and Federal agencies; and
(11) carry out other activities, as determined by the
Secretary.
(c) Consideration.--In developing the Center, the Secretary shall
take into account diverse stakeholder views, including people with
disabilities, older adults, self-advocacy organizations, and
organizations representing people with disabilities, older adults,
family members, court-stakeholder partnerships and others, as well as
available literature developed through academic or other research
institutions.
SEC. 5. STATE GUARDIANSHIP DATABASES.
Section 2042(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397m-1(c))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (2)(E)'' and
inserting ``subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph
(2)'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``Funds'' and inserting
``Subject to paragraph (7), funds''; and
(ii) by striking ``subparagraph (E)'' and
inserting ``subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), and
(H)'';
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``or'' at the
end;
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as
subparagraph (I); and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the
following new paragraphs:
``(F) methods to assess State guardianship
statistics such as the creation of State databases to
collect information about the number and
characteristics of guardianship arrangements,
guardians, individuals subject to guardianship, and
individuals receiving supported decision-making
services or other alternatives to guardianship;
``(G) the use of trained court visitors to improve
court administration of guardianship arrangements,
including the appointment and oversight of guardians
and adoption of less restrictive alternatives to
guardianship, and to encompass a broad range of
entities that could provide oversight and support to
adults subject to guardianship;
``(H) methods for collecting, storing, and making
available to the appropriate individuals,
organizations, and entities information on prospective,
current, and previously appointed guardians, which may
include--
``(i) information relating to background
check investigations;
``(ii) court decisions regarding petitions
for appointment as a guardian, including the
rationale for such decisions; and
``(iii) information relating to the cause
for removal of the guardian or termination of
the guardianship arrangement; or'';
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking ``paragraph (2)(E)'' and
inserting ``subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph
(2)'';
(4) in paragraph (5), by striking ``paragraph (2)(E)'' each
place it appears and inserting ``subparagraphs (E), (F), (G),
and (H) of paragraph (2)''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) Ensuring demonstration program funding for the
highest courts of states.--The Secretary shall ensure that at
least 5 percent of the total of any funds made available to
carry out this subsection in a fiscal year (beginning with
fiscal year 2020) is awarded under grants to the highest courts
of States for purposes of conducting demonstration programs
described in subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph
(2).''.
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