2006 Code of Virginia § 2.2-712 - Powers and duties of the Department with respect to public guardian and conservator progra...

2.2-712. Powers and duties of the Department with respect to publicguardian and conservator program.

A. The Department shall fund from appropriations received for such purpose astatewide system of local or regional public guardian and conservatorprograms.

B. The Department shall:

1. Make and enter into all contracts necessary or incidental to theperformance of its duties and in furtherance of the purposes as specified inthis article in conformance with the Public Procurement Act ( 2.2-4300 etseq.).

2. Contract with local or regional public or private entities to provideservices as guardians and conservators operating as local or regionalVirginia Public Guardian and Conservator Programs in those cases in which acourt, pursuant to 37.2-1010 and 37.2-1015, determines that a person iseligible to have a public guardian or conservator appointed.

3. Adopt reasonable regulations in accordance with the Administrative ProcessAct ( 2.2-4000 et seq.) as appropriate to implement, administer and managethe state and local or regional programs authorized by this article,including, but not limited to the adoption of:

a. Minimum training and experience requirements for volunteers andprofessional staff of the local and regional programs;

b. An ideal range of staff to client ratios for the programs; adoption ofprocedures to be followed whenever a local or regional program falls below orexceeds the ideal range of staff to client ratios, which shall include, butnot be limited to, procedures to ensure that services shall continue to beavailable to those in need and that appropriate notice is given to thecourts, sheriffs, where appropriate, and the Department; and

c. Procedures governing disqualification of any program falling below orexceeding the ideal range of staff to client ratios, which shall include aprocess for evaluating any program that has exceeded the ratio to assess theeffects falling below or exceeding the ideal range of ratios has had or ishaving upon the program and upon the incapacitated persons served by theprogram.

The regulations shall require that evaluations occur no less frequently thanevery six months and shall continue until the staff to client ratio returnsto within the ideal range.

4. Establish procedures and administrative guidelines to ensure theseparation of local or regional Virginia Public Guardian and ConservatorPrograms from any other guardian or conservator program operated by theentity with whom the Department contracts, specifically addressing the needfor separation in programs that may be fee-generating.

5. Establish record-keeping and accounting procedures to ensure that eachlocal or regional program (i) maintains confidential, accurate and up-to-daterecords of the personal and property matters over which it has control foreach incapacitated person for whom it is appointed guardian or conservatorand (ii) files with the Department an account of all public and private fundsreceived.

6. Establish criteria for the conduct of and filing with the Department andas otherwise required by law: values history surveys, annual decisionalaccounting and assessment reports, the care plan designed for theincapacitated person and such other information as the Department may byregulation require.

7. Establish criteria to be used by the local and regional programs insetting priorities with regard to services to be provided.

8. Take such other actions as are necessary to ensure coordinated servicesand a reasonable review of all local and regional programs.

9. Maintain statistical data on the programs and report to the GeneralAssembly on or before January 1 of each year as provided in the procedures ofthe Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing oflegislative documents regarding the status of the Virginia Public Guardianand Conservator Program and the developing trends with regard to the need forguardians, conservators and other types of surrogate decision-makingservices. In addition, the Department shall enter into a contract with anappropriate research entity with expertise in gerontology, disabilities andpublic administration to conduct an evaluation of local public guardian andconservator programs from funds specifically allocated for this purpose, andthe evaluator shall provide a report with recommendations to the Departmentand to the Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board by December 1,2003. Trends identified in the report shall be presented to the GeneralAssembly. The Department shall request such a report from an appropriateresearch entity every four years, provided the General Assembly appropriatesfunds for that purpose.

10. Recommend appropriate legislative or executive actions.

C. Nothing in this article shall prohibit the Department from contractingpursuant to subdivision B 2 with an entity that may also provide privatelyfunded surrogate decision-making services, including guardian and conservatorservices funded with fees generated by the estates of incapacitated persons,provided such private programs are administered by the contracting entityentirely separately from the local or regional Virginia Public Guardian andConservator Programs, in conformity with regulations established by theDepartment in that respect.

D. In accordance with the Public Procurement Act ( 2.2-4300 et seq.) andrecommendations of the Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board, theDepartment may contract with a not-for-profit private entity that does notprovide services to incapacitated persons as guardian or conservator toadminister the program, and, if it does, the term "Department" when used inthis article shall refer to the contract administrator.

(1998, c. 787, 2.1-373.12; 2000, c. 463; 2001, c. 844; 2005, c. 712.)