[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4174 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4174
To assist States in improving guardianship oversight and data
collection.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 6, 2019
Mr. Soto (for himself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Crist, and Mrs. Dingell)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
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
2019''.
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 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 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 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.
(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) 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;
(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.
(c) Consideration.--In developing the Center, the Elder Justice
Coordinating Council shall take into account diverse stakeholder views,
including those of individuals 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, and individuals subject to guardianship;
``(G) the use of trained court visitors to improve
court administration of guardianship arrangements,
including the appointment and oversight of guardians;
``(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) 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; 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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