II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1744 

To provide funding for State courts to assess and improve the handling 

of proceedings relating to adult guardianship and conservatorship, to 

authorize the Attorney General to carry out a pilot program for the 

conduct of background checks on individuals to be appointed as guardians 

or conservators, and to promote the widespread adoption of information 

technology to better monitor, report, and audit conservatorships of protected persons. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20, 2011 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide funding for State courts to assess and improve 

the handling of proceedings relating to adult guardianship and conservatorship, to authorize the Attorney General to carry out a pilot program for the conduct of 

background checks on individuals to be appointed as 

guardians or conservators, and to promote the widespread adoption of information technology to better monitor, report, and audit conservatorships of protected persons. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Guardian Account3 ability and Senior Protection Act’’. 

4 TITLE I—STATE COURT 

5 IMPROVEMENT 

6 SEC. 101. FUNDING FOR STATE COURTS TO ASSESS AND IM7 PROVE HANDLING OF PROCEEDINGS RELAT8 ING TO ADULT GUARDIANSHIP AND CON9 SERVATORSHIP. 

10 Part A of title IV of the Older Americans Act of 1964 

11 (42 U.S.C. 3032 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) in section 411(a)— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

14 by inserting ‘‘(including the highest court of 

15 each State)’’ after ‘‘with States’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

17 and inserting a semicolon; 

18 (C) by redesignating paragraph (13) as 

19 paragraph (14); and 

20 (D) by inserting after paragraph (12) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(13) assessing the fairness, effectiveness, time23 liness, and accessibility of adult guardianship and 

24 conservatorship proceedings, implementing changes 

25 deemed necessary as a result of the assessments, 

26 and collecting necessary data regarding those proVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:27 Oct 22, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1744.IS S1744

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1 ceedings and the impact of the necessary changes; 

2 and’’; and 

3 (2) by inserting at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 423. FUNDING FOR STATE COURTS TO ASSESS AND 

5 IMPROVE HANDLING OF PROCEEDINGS RE6 LATING TO ADULT GUARDIANSHIP AND CON7 SERVATORSHIP. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary, in con9 sultation with the Attorney General, shall make grants, 

10 in accordance with this section, to the highest court of 

11 a State for the purpose of enabling such a court, in col12 laboration with the State unit on aging— 

13 ‘‘(1) to conduct assessments, in accordance with 

14 such requirements as the Secretary shall publish, of 

15 the role, responsibilities, and effectiveness of State 

16 courts in carrying out State laws requiring pro17 ceedings (conducted by or under the supervision of 

18 the courts)— 

19 ‘‘(A) that determine whether to impose a 

20 full, limited, or temporary adult guardianship 

21 or conservatorship; 

22 ‘‘(B) that select a guardian of a person or 

23 conservator of an estate; 


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1 ‘‘(C) that review the continued need for a 

2 full, limited, or temporary guardianship or con3 servatorship of an adult; and 

4 ‘‘(D) that review the performance of a per5 son appointed as guardian or conservator for an 

6 adult; 

7 ‘‘(2) to implement changes deemed necessary as 

8 a result of the assessments; and 

9 ‘‘(3) to collect data regarding those proceedings 

10 and the impact of the necessary changes. 

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible for a 

12 grant under this section, a highest State court shall sub13 mit to the Assistant Secretary an application at such time, 

14 in such form, and including such information and assur15 ances as the Assistant Secretary shall require. 

16 ‘‘(c) ALLOTMENTS.—Each highest State court which 

17 has an application approved under subsection (b), and is 

18 conducting assessment activities in accordance with this 

19 section, may receive a grant from the Assistant Secretary, 

20 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015, from amounts 

21 appropriated to carry out section 411, in an amount to 

22 be determined appropriate by the Assistant Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each highest State 

24 court which receives funds under this section may use such 

25 funds to pay— 


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1 ‘‘(1) any or all costs of activities under this sec2 tion in fiscal year 2012; and 

3 ‘‘(2) not more than 75 percent of the cost of ac4 tivities under this section in each of fiscal years 

5 2013, 2014, and 2015.’’. 

6 TITLE II—BACKGROUND 

7 CHECKS 

8 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

10 (1) ADVERSE INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘ad11 verse information’’ means— 

12 (A) information from a criminal history 

13 background check that indicates that the indi14 vidual has been convicted of a relevant crime; 

15 (B) information that the individual has 

16 been judicially determined to have committed 

17 abuse, abandonment, neglect, or financial or 

18 sexual exploitation of a child, spouse, or other 

19 adult; and 

20 (C) information from an adult or child 

21 abuse registry that indicates that the individual 

22 is included in an adult or child abuse registry. 

23 (2) CONSERVATOR.—The term ‘‘conservator’’ 

24 means an individual who is appointed by a court 

25 under applicable State law to manage the estate of 


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1 a protected person. Such definition shall not apply 

2 to— 

3 (A) a bank with trust powers, bank and 

4 trust company, or trust company organized 

5 under the laws of any State or of the United 

6 States and which is regulated by the commis7 sioner of commerce or a Federal regulator; or 

8 (B) a credit union, savings and loan, or 

9 other financial institution. 

10 (3) GUARDIAN.—The term ‘‘guardian’’ means 

11 an individual who is appointed by a court to protect 

12 an incapacitated individual’s personal or financial 

13 welfare. 

14 (4) PROTECTED PERSON.—The term ‘‘protected 

15 person’’ means an adult whom the court determines 

16 in a guardian or conservatorship proceeding is un17 able to manage property and accounts. 

18 (5) RELEVANT CRIME.—The term ‘‘Relevant 

19 crime’’ includes any felony or misdemeanor convic20 tion for abuse, neglect, fraud, misappropriation, mis21 representation, theft, conversion, or other financial 

22 crime, or such other types of offenses as a partici23 pating highest court of a State may specify for pur24 poses of conducting the pilot program in such State. 


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1 SEC. 202. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL AND STATE 

2 BACKGROUND CHECKS OF GUARDIANS AND 

3 CONSERVATORS. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PROGRAM.—The At5 torney General, shall establish a pilot program to identify 

6 efficient, effective, and economical procedures for State 

7 courts to conduct background checks on prospective 

8 guardians and conservators. 

9 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (1) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT BACKGROUND

11 CHECKS.—Under the pilot program under subsection 

12 (a), a State court, prior to appointing a prospective 

13 guardian or conservator on or after the commence14 ment date of the State pilot program, shall conduct 

15 a background check on the guardian or conservator 

16 in accordance with such procedures as the partici17 pating State shall establish pursuant to paragraph 

18 (2). 

19 (2) PROCEDURES.—The procedures established 

20 by a participating highest State court under para21 graph (1) shall be designed to— 

22 (A) provide a prospective guardian or con23 servator with notice that the appointing court is 

24 required to perform background checks with re25 spect to prospective guardians or conservators; 


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1 (B) require, as a condition of appointment, 

2 that the prospective guardian or conservator— 

3 (i) provide a statement signed by the 

4 prospective guardian or conservator au5 thorizing the appointing court to request 

6 national and State criminal history back7 ground checks; 

8 (ii) provide the appointing court with 

9 a set of the prospective guardian’s or con10 servator’s fingerprints; and 

11 (iii) provide information as to whether 

12 the individual has been suspended or dis13 barred from law, accounting, or other pro14 fessional licensing for misconduct involving 

15 financial matters that affect the ability of 

16 the individual to provide the services of a 

17 guardian or conservator safely and com18 petently; 

19 (C) permit the courts to check any avail20 able State and national registries that would be 

21 likely to contain adverse information concerning 

22 a prospective guardian or conservator; and 

23 (D) permit the courts hearing guardian or 

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1 tional criminal history background checks on 

2 the prospective guardian or conservator. 

3 (3) CONSIDERATION OF INFORMATION.—Prior 

4 to appointing an individual with respect to whom ad5 verse information is available as a guardian or con6 servator under a program under this title, the ap7 pointing court shall consider the nature of the infor8 mation or offense involved, the date of any offense, 

9 and evidence of the proposed guardian’s or conserva10 tor’s rehabilitation and determine whether the indi11 vidual’s appointment is in the best interest of the 

12 protected person. 

13 (4) USE OF INFORMATION; IMMUNITY FROM LI14 ABILITY.—A participating highest State court shall 

15 ensure that information obtained about the prospec16 tive guardian or conservator pursuant to a back17 ground check conducted under the State supreme 

18 court pilot program is used only for the purpose of 

19 determining the suitability of the prospective guard20 ian or conservator for appointment. 

21 (c) PARTICIPATING STATES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

23 enter into agreements with not more than 5 States 

24 to conduct the pilot program under this section in 

25 such States. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—An agreement entered 

2 into under paragraph (1) shall require that a partici3 pating highest State court— 

4 (A) be responsible for monitoring compli5 ance with the requirements of the pilot pro6 gram; 

7 (B) have procedures by which a prospective 

8 guardian or conservator may appeal or dispute 

9 the accuracy of the information obtained in a 

10 background check, including consideration of 

11 the nature of the information or offense in12 volved, the date of offense, and the evidence of 

13 the prospective guardian’s or conservator’s re14 habilitation; 

15 (C) establish procedures requiring the 

16 courts hearing guardian or conservatorship 

17 matters to request criminal history background 

18 checks of prospective guardians or conservators 

19 and review the results of any State or national 

20 criminal history background check regarding a 

21 prospective guardian or conservator to deter22 mine whether the prospective guardian or con23 servator has any conviction for a relevant crime; 


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1 (D) keep data on the background checks 

2 performed to be readily accessible for the eval3 uation; and 

4 (E) agree to obtain from the State, non5 Federal contributions, in cash or in-kind, to6 ward the costs of carrying out the pilot pro7 gram in an amount equal to not less than $1 

8 for each $4 of Federal funds provided to the 

9 court under this section. 

10 (3) APPLICATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

11 (A) APPLICATION.—The highest State 

12 court seeking to participate in the pilot pro13 gram established under this section, shall sub14 mit an application to the Attorney General con15 taining such information and at such time as 

16 the Attorney General may specify. 

17 (B) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—In selecting highest 

19 State court to participate in the pilot pro20 gram under this section, the Attorney Gen21 eral shall establish criteria to ensure— 

22 (I) geographic diversity; 

23 (II) the consideration of a variety 

24 of payment mechanisms for covering 

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1 ground checks required under the 

2 pilot program; and 

3 (III) that at least one partici4 pating highest State court includes 

5 protected person abuse prevention 

6 training for prospective guardians or 

7 conservators as part of the pilot pro8 gram conducted in that State. 

9 (ii) INCLUSION OF STATES WITH EX10 ISTING PROGRAMS.—Nothing in this sec11 tion shall be construed as prohibiting any 

12 State which, as of the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, has procedures for con14 ducting background checks with respect to 

15 the appointment of guardians or conserva16 tors from being selected to participate in 

17 the pilot program conducted under this 

18 section. 

19 (d) PAYMENTS.—Of the amounts made available 

20 under subsection (f) to conduct the pilot program under 

21 this section, the Attorney General shall— 

22 (1) make payments to participating highest 

23 State courts for the costs of conducting the pilot 

24 program in such States which may include the ad25 ministration of the pilot program, staffing, the cost 


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1 of background checks, and other purposes as deter2 mined by the Attorney General; and 

3 (2) reserve up to 4 percent of such amounts to 

4 conduct the evaluation required under subsection 

5 (e). 

6 (e) EVALUATION.—The Attorney General shall, 

7 through grant, contract, or interagency agreement, con8 duct an evaluation of the pilot program conducted under 

9 this section. Such evaluation should— 

10 (1) review the various procedures implemented 

11 by participating highest State courts for the conduct 

12 of background checks of prospective guardians or 

13 conservators and identify the most efficient, effec14 tive, and economical procedures for conducting such 

15 background checks; 

16 (2) assess the costs of conducting such back17 ground checks (including start-up and administra18 tive costs); 

19 (3) consider the benefits and disadvantages as20 sociated with requiring prospective guardians or con21 servators to pay the costs of conducting such back22 ground checks; 

23 (4) determine the extent to which conducting 

24 such background checks leads to any unintended 

25 consequences, including a reduction in the available 


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1 guardians or conservators or delay and backlogs in 

2 processing appointments; 

3 (5) to the extent feasible, seek to determine the 

4 efficacy of the pilot program in reducing abuse of 

5 protected persons and their estate by guardians or 

6 conservators; and 

7 (6) include other elements that would bear on 

8 the usefulness and effectiveness of the program. 

9 (f) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated to the Attorney General to carry out the pilot pro11 gram under this section, such sums as may be necessary 

12 for the period of fiscal years 2012 through 2015. 

13 TITLE III—E-FILE 

14 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 

16 (1) ADULT.—The term ‘‘adult’’ means an indi17 vidual who is 18 years of age or older. 

18 (2) CONSERVATOR.—The term ‘‘conservator’’ 

19 means an individual who is appointed by a court 

20 under applicable State law to manage the estate of 

21 a protected person. 

22 (3) EXPLOITATION.—The term ‘‘exploitation’’ 

23 means the fraudulent or otherwise illegal, unauthor24 ized, or improper act or process of a conservator 

25 that uses the resources of a protected person for the 


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1 conservator’s monetary or personal benefit, profit, or 

2 gain, or that results in depriving a protected person 

3 of rightful access to, or use of, benefits, resources, 

4 belongings, services or assets. 

5 (4) GUARDIAN.—The term ‘‘guardian’’ means 

6 an individual who is appointed by a court to protect 

7 an incapacitated individual’s personal or financial 

8 welfare. 

9 (5) HIGHEST STATE COURT.—The term ‘‘high10 est State court’’ means the highest appellate court 

11 within a State. 

12 (6) PROTECTED PERSON.—The term ‘‘protected 

13 person’’ means an adult whom the court determines 

14 in a guardian or conservatorship proceeding is un15 able to manage property and accounts. 

16 SEC. 302. CONSERVATOR MONITORING GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) GRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State Justice Institute, 

19 pursuant to the authority provided in the State Jus20 tice Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10701 et seq.), 

21 may award grants to eligible highest State courts to 

22 assist in improving conservator monitoring efforts 

23 through electronic filing. 


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1 (2) DURATION.—Grants awarded under para2 graph (1) shall be for a period of not to exceed 3 

3 years. 

4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts received under a 

6 grant awarded under subsection (a) shall be used to 

7 implement and evaluate the impact of systems ena8 bling the annual accountings and other required con9 servatorship filings to be completed, filed, reviewed, 

10 and analyzed electronically in order to simplify the 

11 filing process for conservators and better enable the 

12 courts to identify discrepancies and detect fraud and 

13 exploitation of protected persons. 

14 (2) ALLOCATION.—A highest State court that 

15 receives a grant under this section shall prioritize 

16 the use of the grant funds so as to assist the great17 est number of conservators and protect the greatest 

18 number of protected persons. 

19 (c) APPLICATION.—A highest State court desiring a 

20 grant under subsection (a)(1) shall submit an application 

21 to the State Justice Institute at such time, in such man22 ner, and accompanied by such information as the State 

23 Justice Institute may require. 


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1 SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the State 

3 Justice Institute to carry out the activities under this title, 

4 such sums as may be necessary for the period of fiscal 

5 years 2012 through 2015. 

Æ 


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