To improve guardianship case management, the National Center for State Courts is leading two SJI-funded projects to help guide courts through guardianship monitoring.
Developing a Judicial Response Protocol to Address Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in Guardianship Cases features an interactive tool designed to help judges respond to allegations of harm to individuals subject to guardianship. Because most judges hear guardianship complaints infrequently, this tool helps judges consider their options while providing additional information and links to helpful resources along the way. The tool can be customized for individual states.
Working with partners from the National Guardianship Network, including the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging (ABA-COLA) and the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), NCSC’s Guardianship and Technology project will create technology standards for guardianship monitoring. Partners will host focus groups and conduct interviews with subject-matter experts and individuals affected by guardianship to identify needs and requirements. Once complete, the standards will encourage vendors to provide software systems that allow courts to effectively and efficiently monitor guardianships through online report filing and review.
This project builds upon the Conservatorship Accountability Project which resulted in a report: Adult Guardianship monitoring: A national survey of court practices and guidance on data collection in guardianship cases: Guardianship/Conservatorship Monitoring – Recommended Data Elements.
“There are very few cases in the judicial system that span the lifetime of these guardianship and conservatorship cases. It is critical that these monitoring systems be in play and that you constantly review files. If you catch something quickly, there may be a chance to step in and protect the individual.”
Judge Michael Long, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan
For more information, contact Diane Robinson, National Center for State Courts, drobinson@ncsc.org
