This book offers the first full examination of the legal role of public guardianship in 25 years, comparing current conditions to those when the last study was published in 1981.Public Guardianship: In the Best Interests of Incapacitated People? is written to advance public understanding of what happens to disabled and elderly adults when no family member or friend is available to be a caregiver or guardian should it become necessary. It is the first major study on this critically important issue since 1981. Conducted by experts in gerontology, social work, public policy, and public health, it finds that, although progress has been made, guardianship programs around the country still are hampered by limited staff and resources.Public Guardianship analyzes the full range of state statutes governing guardianship, including guardian eligibility, investigation, due process, rights, powers, costs, and monitoring. The authors report their case studies of public guardianship programs, marshaling and comparing field data from their surveys of stakeholders in ten states. The book concludes with a variety of recommendations for improving guardianship programs, including the authors' Model Public Guardian Act.

PrefaceAcknowledgments1. Introduction2. State Statutory Analysis: Adult Guardianship and Public Guardianship Law3. Case Studies4. Conclusions and Recommendations5. Model Public Guardianship ActAppendicesAppendix A: State Public Guardianship Statutory ChartsTable 1: Statutory Authority and Type of ProgramTable 2: Procedural Due Process Safeguards in GuardianshipTable 3: Assessment; Civil Liberties; Selection of GuardianTable 4: Powers and Duties of Guardians; CostsTable 5: Additional Guardianship ProvisionsAppendix B: State Public Guardianship ProfilesAppendix C: Classification of Models by StateBibliographyIndex