PA Guardianship Justice Summits
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The Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts and the Office of Elder Justice in the Courts hosted the first Pennsylvania Guardianship Justice Summit (Summit) in 2023 and the second Summit in 2025. These Summits provided education to, and fostered collaboration between, stakeholders involved with guardianship and related topics. Attendees included orphans’ court judges and clerks, professional guardians, staff from state agencies involved with elder justice, elder law and legal aid attorneys, legislators, disability advocates, health care providers and evaluators, long-term care providers, and adult protective services.
Topics discussed at the Summits included assuring due process in guardianship proceedings, advancing improvements in monitoring guardians, promoting alternatives to guardianship, and increasing the development of collaboration between state and local organizations. Additional featured topics included limited guardianship, end of life decision-making, multidisciplinary teams, and representation of aging in media.
The Summits were made possible by a grant (approximately $3 million) awarded to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts by the federal Administration on Community Living (ACL). The ACL’s Elder Justice Innovation Grant program provides financial assistance to states working to assess and improve their handling of adult guardianship cases. Pennsylvania is one of three states that received funding. The OEJC oversees the work of the grant, which ran from September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2025.
Watch Presentations from the 2023 Guardianship Justice Summit
“The Summits were supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $2,121,598.64 with 75% funded by ACL/HHS and $530,399.66, and 25% funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.”