,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cffi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #bh1 #bjah ,ms4 ,collins 7for herself and ,mr4 ,casey7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to assist ,states in improving guardianship oversight and data collection4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,guardianship ,accountability ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,purpose ,the purposes of this ,act are to help ,states improve guardianship oversight and data collection by-- 7#a7 designating a ,national ,online ,resource ,center on ,guardianship2 7#b7 authorize grants for the purpose of developing ,state ,guardianship ,databases2 and 7#c7 establishing procedures for sharing background check information related to appointed guardians with other jurisdictions4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,elder justice coordinating council ,the term ,elder ,justice ,coordinating ,council means the ,council established under section #bjba of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acigk74 7#b7 ,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 property4 7#c7 ,individuals subject to guardianship ,the term individuals subject to guardianship means any individual #ah years or older placed under a guardianship4 #d4 ,national ,online ,resource ,center on ,guardianship 7a7 ,designation ,the ,elder ,justice ,coordinating ,council shall establish a ,national ,online ,resource ,center on ,guardianship 7referred to in this section as the ,center74 7b7 ,the ,national ,online ,resource ,center on ,guardianship ,the ,national ,online ,resource ,center shall-- 7#a7 collect and publish information for use by individuals subject to guardianship1 guardians1 courts1 ,state and local governments1 and community organizations2 7#b7 post model standards1 best practices1 and guidelines for the appointment and regulation of guardianship cases developed under section #eje of the ,elder ,abuse ,prevention and ,prosecution ,act 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #bageb72 7#c7 promote the use of less restrictive alternatives to guardianship and the restoration of rights of individuals subject to guardianship2 7#d7 annually compile and publish1 a summary of recently conducted research on guardianship systems1 including information from agencies across the government2 7#e7 collect data from ,states regarding-- 7,a7 the number of individuals subject to guardianship2 7,b7 the duration of guardianships2 7,c7 the extent of authority granted to guardians2 7,d7 the amount of financial assets under guardianship2 and 7,e7 whether an appointed guardian is classified as a-- 7i7 family guardian2 7ii7 private or institutional guardian2 or 7iii7 public guardian2 7#f7 maintain a public1 national database on ,state laws regarding guardianship and less restrictive alternatives to guardianship1 including-- 7,a7 requiring for the use of least restrictive alternative2 7,b7 reporting requirements for appointed guardians2 7,c7 oversight of appointed guardians2 and 7,d7 requirements for the restoration of rights of individuals subject to guardianship2 7#g7 identify issues relating to guardianship and provide and publish annual recommendations to ,states and ,congress to address identified problems2 7#h7 collect and analyze best practices relating to guardianship1 and publish a report of such best practices1 including model guidelines and standards for-- 7,a7 ensuring appropriate representation and protection of legal rights for individuals subject to guardianship and guardianship proceedings2 7,b7 conducting background check investigations on prospective and appointed guardians2 7,c7 promoting the use of less restrictive alternatives to guardianship2 7,d7 obtaining restoration of all or some rights2 7,e7 implementing oversight programs2 and 7,f7 responding to abuse1 neglect1 and exploitation2 7#i7 compile and publish training materials for court appointed guardians related to duties and obligations1 as well as ways in which to effectively support individuals subject to guardianship2 7#aj7 facilitate ,state collection of guardianship information and the sharing of such information among ,states2 and 7#aa7 carry out other activities1 as determined by the ,elder ,justice ,coordinating ,council4 #e4 ,state guardianship databases ,section #bjdb7;c77#b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acigm-#a7;c77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,e71 by striking or at the end2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,f71 by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon2 and 7#c7 and by adding at the end the following3 7,g7 methods to assess ,state guardianship statistics such as the creation of ,state databases to collect information about the number and characteristics of guardianship arrangements1 guardians1 and individuals subject to guardianship2 7,h7 the use of trained court visitors to improve court administration of guardianship arrangements1 including the appointment and oversight of guardians2 or 7,i7 methods for collecting1 storing1 and making available to the appropriate individuals1 organizations1 and entities information on prospective1 current1 and previously appointed guardians1 which may include-- 7i7 contact and identifying information2 7ii7 information relating to background check investigations2 7iii7 court decisions regarding petitions for appointment as a guardian1 including the rationale for such decisions2 and 7iv7 information relating to the cause for removal of the guardian or termination of the guardianship arrangement4 4