II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 591 

To assist States in improving guardianship oversight and data collection. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2019 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To assist States in improving guardianship oversight and 

data collection. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guardianship Account5 ability Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) An estimated 1,300,000 adults and approxi9 mately $50,000,000,000 in assets are under the care 

10 of guardians in the United States. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 591 IS

1 (2) Most guardians are selfless, dedicated indi2 viduals who play an important role in safeguarding 

3 individuals in need of support. However, unscrupu4 lous guardians acting with little oversight have used 

5 guardianship proceedings to obtain control of indi6 viduals in need of support. 

7 (3) Once a guardianship is imposed, there are 

8 often few safeguards in place to protect against indi9 viduals who choose to abuse the system and few 

10 states are able to report accurate or detailed guard11 ianship data. 

12 (4) A full guardianship order may remove more 

13 rights than necessary and may not be the best 

14 means of providing support and protection to an in15 dividual. If individuals subject to guardianship re16 gain capacity, all or some rights should be quickly 

17 and efficiently restored. 

18 (5) States should encourage courts to use alter19 natives to guardianship through State statutes, in20 cluding the adoption of the Uniform Guardianship, 

21 Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrange22 ments Act, to ensure better protections and control 

23 for individuals being considered for guardianship 

24 and those pursuing a restoration of their rights. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 591 IS

1 (6) A national resource center on guardianship 

2 is needed to collect and publish information for the 

3 benefit of courts, policy makers, individuals subject 

4 to guardianship, guardians, community organiza5 tions, and other stakeholders. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to help 

7 States improve guardianship oversight and data collection 

8 by— 

9 (1) designating a National Online Resource 

10 Center on Guardianship; 

11 (2) authorize grants for the purpose of devel12 oping State Guardianship Databases; and 

13 (3) establishing procedures for sharing back14 ground check information related to appointed 

15 guardians with other jurisdictions. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ELDER JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL.— 

19 The term ‘‘Elder Justice Coordinating Council’’ 

20 means the Council established under section 2021 of 

21 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397k). 

22 (2) GUARDIANSHIP.—The term ‘‘guardianship’’ 

23 means a legal relationship established by a court 

24 when a person is determined to lack the ability to 

25 meet essential requirements for physical health, safeVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 591 IS

1 ty, or self-care because the person is unable to re2 ceive and evaluate information or make or commu3 nicate decisions about their person or property, even 

4 with appropriate supportive services, technological 

5 assistance, supported decision making, or other less 

6 restrictive alternatives. 

7 (3) INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO GUARDIAN8 SHIP.—The term ‘‘individuals subject to guardian9 ship’’ means any individual 18 years or older placed 

10 under a guardianship. 

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ONLINE RESOURCE CENTER ON GUARD12 IANSHIP. 

13 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Elder Justice Coordinating 

14 Council shall establish a National Online Resource Center 

15 on Guardianship (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Cen16 ter’’). 

17 (b) THE NATIONAL ONLINE RESOURCE CENTER ON

18 GUARDIANSHIP.—The National Online Resource Center 

19 shall— 

20 (1) collect and publish information for use by 

21 individuals subject to guardianship, guardians, 

22 courts, State and local governments, and community 

23 organizations; 

24 (2) post model standards, best practices, and 

25 guidelines for the appointment and regulation of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 591 IS

1 guardianship cases developed under section 505 of 

2 the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (34 

3 U.S.C. 21752); 

4 (3) promote the use of less restrictive alter5 natives to guardianship and the restoration of rights 

6 of individuals subject to guardianship; 

7 (4) annually compile and publish a summary of 

8 recently conducted research on guardianship sys9 tems, including information from agencies across the 

10 government; 

11 (5) collect data from States regarding— 

12 (A) the number of individuals subject to 

13 guardianship; 

14 (B) the duration of guardianships; 

15 (C) whether the authority granted to 

16 guardians is classified as— 

17 (i) full guardianship; 

18 (ii) limited guardianship; 

19 (iii) emergency or temporary guard20 ianship; or 

21 (iv) a less restrictive alternative to 

22 guardianship; 

23 (D) the amount of financial assets under 

24 guardianship; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 591 IS

1 (E) whether an appointed guardian is clas2 sified as a— 

3 (i) family or other nonprofessional 

4 guardian; 

5 (ii) private or professional guardian or 

6 guardianship agencies; or 

7 (iii) public guardian; 

8 (6) maintain a public, national database on 

9 State laws regarding guardianship and less restric10 tive alternatives to guardianship, including require11 ments for the— 

12 (A) use of least restrictive alternative; 

13 (B) regular filing and documentation by 

14 appointed guardians; 

15 (C) oversight of appointed guardians; 

16 (D) restoration of rights of individuals 

17 subject to guardianship; and 

18 (E) oversight of potential conflicts of inter19 est among individuals and organizations in20 volved in guardianship applications, appoint21 ments, and oversight; 

22 (7) identify issues relating to guardianship and 

23 provide and publish annual recommendations to 

24 States and Congress to address identified problems; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 591 IS

1 (8) collect and analyze best practices relating to 

2 guardianship, and publish a report of such best 

3 practices, including model guidelines and standards 

4 for— 

5 (A) ensuring appropriate representation 

6 and protection of legal rights for individuals 

7 subject to guardianship and guardianship pro8 ceedings; 

9 (B) conducting background check inves10 tigations on prospective and appointed guard11 ians; 

12 (C) promoting the use of less restrictive al13 ternatives to guardianship; 

14 (D) obtaining restoration of all or some 

15 rights; 

16 (E) implementing oversight programs; and 

17 (F) responding to abuse, neglect, and ex18 ploitation; 

19 (9) compile and publish training materials for 

20 court appointed guardians related to duties and obli21 gations, as well as ways in which to effectively sup22 port individuals subject to guardianship; 

23 (10) facilitate State collection of guardianship 

24 information and the sharing of such information 

25 among States; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 591 IS

1 (11) carry out other activities, as determined by 

2 the Elder Justice Coordinating Council. 

3 (c) CONSIDERATION.—In developing the Center, the 

4 Elder Justice Coordinating Council shall take into account 

5 diverse stakeholder views, including those of individuals 

6 and organizations representing people with disabilities, 

7 older adults, family members, court-stakeholder partner8 ships and others, as well as available literature developed 

9 through academic or other research institutions. 

10 SEC. 5. STATE GUARDIANSHIP DATABASES. 

11 Section 2042(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1397m–1(c)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

14 (2)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), 

15 and (H) of paragraph (2)’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘Funds’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Subject to paragraph (7), funds’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (E)’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (E), (F), 

23 (G), and (H)’’; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

25 at the end; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 591 IS

1 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 

2 subparagraph (I); and 

3 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

4 the following new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(F) methods to assess State guardianship 

6 statistics such as the creation of State data7 bases to collect information about the number 

8 and characteristics of guardianship arrange9 ments, guardians, and individuals subject to 

10 guardianship; 

11 ‘‘(G) the use of trained court visitors to 

12 improve court administration of guardianship 

13 arrangements, including the appointment and 

14 oversight of guardians; 

15 ‘‘(H) methods for collecting, storing, and 

16 making available to the appropriate individuals, 

17 organizations, and entities information on pro18 spective, current, and previously appointed 

19 guardians, which may include— 

20 ‘‘(i) contact and identifying informa21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(ii) information relating to back23 ground check investigations; 

24 ‘‘(iii) court decisions regarding peti25 tions for appointment as a guardian, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Mar 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S591.IS S591

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 591 IS

1 cluding the rationale for such decisions; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iv) information relating to the cause 

4 for removal of the guardian or termination 

5 of the guardianship arrangement; or’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

7 (2)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (E), (F), (G), 

8 and (H) of paragraph (2)’’; 

9 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

10 (2)(E)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub11 paragraphs (E), (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph 

12 (2)’’; and 

13 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(7) ENSURING DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

16 FUNDING FOR THE HIGHEST COURTS OF STATES.— 

17 The Secretary shall ensure that at least 5 percent of 

18 the total of any funds made available to carry out 

19 this subsection in a fiscal year (beginning with fiscal 

20 year 2020) is awarded under grants to the highest 

21 courts of States for purposes of conducting dem22 onstration programs described in subparagraphs 

23 (E), (F), (G), and (H) of paragraph (2).’’. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS