HB 634

Abstract

Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services; work group; review and evaluate guardianship visitation requirements; report. Directs the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to convene a work group to (i) evaluate how a requirement for private guardians to visit the individual under their guardianship in person at least once every 90 days would reduce the availability of willing and qualified individuals to serve as private guardians, if at all; (ii) consider whether a different number and frequency of visits per year, other than at least once every 90 days, would better balance resource constraints with the importance of guardian visits to the incapacitated person under their care; (iii) determine the additional resources, if any, needed to mitigate the negative impacts of an increased visitation requirement on the willingness and availability of qualified individuals to serve as private guardians; (iv) determine how those resources could be allocated to the relevant private and public entities in the guardianship system to promote compliance with an increased visitation requirement; and (v) determine whether expansion of the Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Program would substantially alleviate issues related to these concerns. The Department shall submit a summary of its recommendations to the Chairmen of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary by November 1, 2022.

Guardianship; duties of guardian; visitationrequirements. Requires a guardian to visit an incapacitated personat least once every 90 days and make certain observations and assessmentsduring each visit. The bill provides that a guardian may utilizea person who is directly employed and supervised by the guardian,or contract the services of a care manager who is a trained professionalwho specializes in the field of life-care management, geriatrics,older adults and aging or adults with disabilities and who provides written reports to the guardian regarding any such visits to satisfythe duties imposed upon such a guardian.