The Department of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC developed the “Judicial Guardianship Evaluation Worksheet” in 2022. Commissioned by the Department of Justice, the Worksheet is an organizational tool for judges that highlights essential data in older adult guardianship cases supporting evaluation of the quality of evidence, assessment of the risk for elder mistreatment, and consideration of less restrictive orders or alternatives to guardianship when appropriate. The Worksheet supplements state-specific statutory guidelines. The framework is grounded in the Abuse Intervention/Prevention Model (AIM), an evidence-based, pragmatic approach to examine the complex dynamic between the proposed protected person and the proposed guardian within the context of their relationship.
Under the direction of Bonnie Olsen, PhD, this project will study the facilitators and barriers to implementation of the Worksheet over a 12-month period and its utility in fostering meaningful judicial analysis of less restrictive alternatives. In partnership with ACL, the study will occur in one judicial jurisdiction in the State of Virginia and the District of Columbia, representing two of ACL’s current 10 Highest State Court Grantees.
This project is funded by the Department of Justice and contracted to USC through the Administration for Community Living through the Elder Justice Innovation Grants program.
Project Contact: Bonnie Olsen, Bonnie.Olsen@med.usc.edu