When a person living with disabilities or with declining health needs assistance with making decisions, an individual or entity can petition a court to appoint a guardian. For example, a person with advanced dementia may require a guardian to make financial decisions on their behalf; someone with a traumatic brain injury may need a guardian to manage their daily activities; or a person may appoint a guardian to make critical end-of-life decisions.
Despite a legal mandate to appoint a guardian to every person who needs one, New York offers no statewide program or related fund. As a result, access to guardianship is often only an option for people with resources to appoint a family member, friend, or hired private guardian. Women, people of color, and people with low income are disproportionately at the mercy of a small patchwork of nonprofits and a few private guardians willing to take cases at a low fee.
Please join NYHealth and Project Guardianship for a conversation on the systemic barriers to accessing publicly appointed guardians, alternatives to guardianship, and the burgeoning statewide effort to ensure access to high-quality guardianship for those who need it.
Speakers:
- Kimberly George, President & CEO, Project Guardianship
- Azaleea Carlea, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Project Guardianship
- Deena Schwartz, Director of New York State Guardianship Initiatives, Project Guardianship