SB 734

This bill establishes mandatory initial training requirements for guardians.

Under the bill, every guardian of the person must complete training on all of the

following topics: 1) the duties and required responsibilities of a guardian under the

law and limits of a guardian's decision-making authority; 2) alternatives to

guardianship, including supported decision-making and powers of attorney; 3)

rights retained by a ward; 4) best practices for a guardian to solicit and understand

the wishes and preferences of a ward, involving a ward in decision-making, and

taking a ward's wishes and preferences into account in decisions made by the

guardian; 5) restoration of a ward's rights and the process for removal of

guardianship; 6) future planning and identification of a potential standby or

successor guardian; and 7) resources and technical support for guardians. The bill

also requires that every guardian of the estate must complete training on the duties

and required responsibilities of a guardian under the law and limits of a guardian's

decision-making authority and inventory and accounting requirements. The bill

provides limited exemptions for certain corporate and volunteer guardians.

Under the bill, a proposed guardian of the person or the estate must submit, as

part of the guardianship case, a sworn and notarized statement to the court that the

person has completed the training requirements.

The bill requires the Department of Health Services to award a grant to

administer and conduct the required guardian training. DHS must require, in the

request for proposal, that the grantee have expertise in state guardianship law,

experience with technical assistance and support to guardians and wards, and

knowledge of common challenges and questions encountered by guardians and

wards. In addition, the grantee selected to develop training shall develop plain

language, web-based online training modules using adult-learning design

principles that can be accessed for free by training topic and in formats that

maximize accessibility, with printed versions available for free upon request.