“Toxic guardianships, like that of entrapped Britney Spears, are sadly prevalent across Florida and the country. Lack of data and accountability is one of the biggest hindrances in our fight to protect those in the guardianship system. As the son to two senior parents, I can’t fathom either of them being caught in these horrific circumstances,” said Congressman Charlie Crist. “That’s why I’m proud to co-introduce this legislation with Rep. Soto that directs the Elder Justice Coordinating Council to collect and publish data on guardianships and conservatorships. It also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to states for guardianship oversight programs and establishes a federal guardianship resource center — all towards the goal of eliminating guardianship fraud abuse.”
The Guardianship Accountability Act of 2021 would help ensure individuals under the care of guardians are not at risk of abuse or neglect by expanding the availability of federal demonstration grants to be used for developing state guardianship databases to assist with the collection of information on guardians, training of court visitors, and sharing of background check and other information with appropriate entities. It would also establish a National Resource Center on Guardianship, which would be tasked with:
- Collecting and publishing information relevant to guardianship for use by guardians, individuals subject to guardianship, as well as courts, states, local governments, and community organizations;
- Publishing model legislation and best practices developed pursuant to the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act;
- Compiling and publishing training materials for guardians;
- Sharing research related to guardianship; and
- Maintaining a database on state laws regarding guardianship and the use of less restrictive alternatives, and the restoration of rights.
“Safeguarding our nation’s seniors from abuse and exploitation must be a priority, and too often our current guardianship system fails to protect older Americans,” said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. “The Guardianship Accountability Act will put in place commonsense protections to address these deficiencies, and I am thankful for the bipartisan efforts on this issue.”
“We must protect seniors and individuals with disabilities from exploitative bad actors who seek to take advantage of vulnerable groups through guardianships. Especially during these uncertain times, it is critical that we put in place needed safeguards at the state and local level to protect our seniors and individuals with disabilities from any potential injustice they may incur,” said Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. “I am proud to introduce the bipartisan Guardianship Accountability Act, which provides additional resources to assist states and localities in cracking down on those who seek to harm our society’s most vulnerable. This bill is a first step to proactively fixing the shortcomings of our broken guardianship system.”
A companion bill has been filed in the Senate by Senators Bob Casey and Susan Collins.
For the full text of the bill, please click here.
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