Title: Guardianship Accountability Act of 2018
Policy area: Families

Summary:
Guardianship Accountability Act of 2018
This bill provides resources to support individuals who are at least 18 years old and who are placed under guardianships because they are unable to make safe and sound decisions. Specifically, the bill requires the Elder Justice Coordinating Council to establish a National Online Resource Center on Guardianship. In addition, the bill expands a demonstration grant program for elder abuse prevention to include grants for collecting information about guardianships, training court visitors, and sharing guardian background checks.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3669 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3669

     To assist States in improving guardianship oversight and data 
                              collection.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 28, 2018

Ms. Collins (for herself and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 
2018''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purposes of this Act are to help States improve guardianship 
oversight and data collection by--
            (1) designating a National Online Resource Center on 
        Guardianship;
            (2) authorize 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) Elder justice coordinating council.--The term ``Elder 
        Justice Coordinating Council'' means the Council established 
        under section 2021 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1397k).
            (2) Guardianship.--The term ``guardianship'' means a legal 
        relationship established by a court in which a person is given 
        the legal authority over another person because the other 
        person is unable to make safe and sound decisions regarding 
        their person or property.
            (3) Individuals subject to guardianship.--The term 
        ``individuals subject to guardianship'' means any individual 18 
        years or older placed under a guardianship.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL ONLINE RESOURCE CENTER ON GUARDIANSHIP.

    (a) Designation.--The Elder Justice Coordinating Council shall 
establish a National Online Resource Center on Guardianship (referred 
to in this section as the ``Center'').
    (b) The National Online Resource Center on Guardianship.--The 
National Online 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 and the restoration of rights of individuals 
        subject to guardianship;
            (4) annually compile and publish, a summary of recently 
        conducted research on guardianship systems, 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) the extent of authority granted to guardians;
                    (D) the amount of financial assets under 
                guardianship; and
                    (E) whether an appointed guardian is classified as 
                a--
                            (i) family guardian;
                            (ii) private or institutional guardian; or
                            (iii) public guardian;
            (6) maintain a public, national database on State laws 
        regarding guardianship and less restrictive alternatives to 
        guardianship, including--
                    (A) requiring for the use of least restrictive 
                alternative;
                    (B) reporting requirements for appointed guardians;
                    (C) oversight of appointed guardians; and
                    (D) requirements for the restoration of rights of 
                individuals subject to guardianship;
            (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;
                    (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;
            (10) facilitate State collection of guardianship 
        information and the sharing of such information among States; 
        and
            (11) carry out other activities, as determined by the Elder 
        Justice Coordinating Council.

SEC. 5. STATE GUARDIANSHIP DATABASES.

    Section 2042(c)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397m-
1(c)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) and by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) 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, and individuals subject to guardianship;
                    ``(H) the use of trained court visitors to improve 
                court administration of guardianship arrangements, 
                including the appointment and oversight of guardians; 
                or
                    ``(I) 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) contact and identifying information;
                            ``(ii) information relating to background 
                        check investigations;
                            ``(iii) court decisions regarding petitions 
                        for appointment as a guardian, including the 
                        rationale for such decisions; and
                            ``(iv) information relating to the cause 
                        for removal of the guardian or termination of 
                        the guardianship arrangement.''.
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