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    May 27, 2020

    Court-Stakeholder Partnerships

      When public and private stakeholders work together under court leadership, states can:

    • Improve court processes
    • Enhance services for people who are or may be subject to guardianship
    • Encourage other decision-making options including supported decision-making, so guardianship is a last resort
    • Support an individualized, functional assessment of a person’s abilities and limitations, including need for supports 
    • Promote limited guardianship orders to preserve self-determination
    • Better protect individual rights
    • Address abuse, neglect and exploitation
    • Promote high guardian standards of practice  
    • Strengthen monitoring and use of court databases for tracking cases 

      Stakeholders convened by the court might include:

       

    • The state unit on aging under the Older Americans Act
    • Adult protective services 
    • The federally funded Protection & Advocacy agency that provides legal representation and advocacy for people with disabilities
    • The state bar association
    • Legal services programs
    • Mental health, health and long-term care agencies 
    • Public and private professional guardians 
    • Family guardians
    • Self-advocates 
    • Regional Social Security and Veterans Administration representatives  
    • Others

     

    This web page is supported, in part, by a grant No. 90EJIG0007-01-00 from the administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Grantees carrying out projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Therefore, points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living or DHHS policy.

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