§ 473-D — Community guardianship

§ 473-d. Community guardianship. 1. Definitions. When used in this\nsection unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context or\nsubject matter requires a different interpretation:\n (a) "Community guardian program" means a not-for-profit corporation\nincorporated under the laws of the state of New York or a local\ngovernmental agency which has contracted with or has an agreement with a\nlocal social services official to provide conservatorship or\ncommitteeship services to eligible persons as provided in this title.\n (b) "Hospital" means a hospital as defined in subdivision one of\nsection two thousand eight hundred one of the public health law, or a\nhospital as defined in subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the mental\nhygiene law.\n (c) "Residential facility" means a facility licensed pursuant to\narticle twenty-eight of the public health law, article nineteen,\ntwenty-three, thirty-one or thirty-two of the mental hygiene law, or\narticle seven of this chapter.\n 2. A social services official may contract with a community guardian\nprogram for the provision of conservatorship or committeeship services.\nA social services official may bring a petition to appoint a community\nguardian program as conservator or committee for a person only if the\nperson is:\n (a) eligible for and in receipt of adult protective services, as\ndefined in section four hundred seventy-three of this chapter, at the\ntime of the petition; and\n (b) without a capable friend or relative or responsible agency willing\nand able to serve as conservator or committee; and\n (c) living outside of a hospital or residential facility, or living in\na hospital or residential facility and appointment of the community\nguardian program is part of a plan to return such person to the\ncommunity.\n 3. A contract or agreement between a local social services official\nand a community guardian program shall require that:\n (a) the community guardian program shall make its best efforts to\nmaintain each person for whom the community guardian program is\nappointed as conservator or committee in a place other than a hospital\nor residential facility;\n (b) the community guardian program shall petition the court to\nrelinquish its duties as conservator or committee if a person for whom\nthe community guardian program is appointed as conservator or committee\nregains capacity or competence, or a capable friend or relative becomes\navailable to serve as conservator or committee, or the person must enter\na hospital or residential facility on a long-term basis;\n (c) the community guardian program shall act on behalf of each person\nfor whom the community guardian program is appointed as conservator or\ncommittee to obtain such medical, social, mental health, legal and other\nservices as are available and to which the person is entitled and as are\nrequired for the person's safety and well-being and shall advocate for\nall entitlements, public benefits, and services for which the person\nqualifies and which the person requires;\n (d) all remuneration awarded to the community guardian program by the\ncourt from the estate of a person for whom the community guardian\nprogram is appointed as conservator or committee shall be based upon the\ncost of the community guardian program incurred in serving such person\nor the fee that would otherwise be awarded by the court, whichever is\nthe lesser, and paid over to the social services district;\n (e) the files and records of the community guardian program shall be\nopen to inspection to the local social services officials and the\ndepartment;\n (f) no director, officer or employee of the community guardian program\nshall have a substantial interest in any corporation, organization or\nentity that provides services to any person for whom the community\nguardian program is conservator or committee;\n (g) the community guardian program shall obtain annually a statement\nprepared by a physician, psychologist, nurse clinician, or social\nworker, or other person evaluating the condition and functional level of\na person for whom the community guardian program serves as guardian\npursuant to paragraph five of subdivision (b) of section 81.31 of the\nmental hygiene law and the appointing court shall be informed of the\nresults of such evaluation or examination and may discharge or modify\nthe powers of the guardian pursuant to section 81.36 of the mental\nhygiene law. The person conducting the evaluation pursuant to this\nparagraph shall not be affiliated with a community guardian program and\nshall be acting within their lawful scope of practice as established\nunder the education law;\n (h) persons hired by the community guardian program to provide\nservices to a person for whom the community guardian program has been\nnamed conservator or committee shall have expertise in one or more of\nthe areas of mental health services, protective services, social\nservices or home care services or appropriate experience.\n 4. A local social services official shall not be relieved of any duty\nto provide services to a person by reason of the operation of a\ncommunity guardian program in the locality or by cessation of such\nprogram in the locality.\n 5. The department may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to\nimplement this title.\n 6. Expenditures made by a social services district, directly or\nthrough purchase of services, in petitioning for or acting as a\nconservator or committee, or made pursuant to contract for community\nguardianship services in accordance with the provisions of this title,\nshall be subject to reimbursement by the state, in accordance with\nregulations of the department, in the amount of fifty per centum of such\nexpenditures, after first deducting therefrom any federal funds properly\nreceived or to be received on account thereof and any amounts received\npursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision three of this section.\n 7. Nothing in this title shall lessen or eliminate the\nresponsibilities and powers required by law of any agency, department,\nor any subdivision thereof.\n 8. On or before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven,\nthe commissioner shall submit an interim report to the governor, the\ntemporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly\ndetailing progress and evaluating results of this program. On or before\nDecember thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight, the commissioner\nshall submit a final report to the governor, the temporary president of\nthe senate and the speaker of the assembly on the effectiveness of this\nact.\n