Guardianship Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: S.2881 | Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. (R-ME)
Policy area: Families

Summary:
Guardianship Accountability Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a National Resource Center on Guardianship for the publication of resources and data relating to court-determined adult guardianships. Further, HHS must award at least 5% of certain grant funds for state programs related to overseeing the administration of court-appointed guardian arrangements.

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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