The National Guardianship Network (NGN) convened the Third National Guardianship Summit: Standards of Excellence at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in Salt Lake City on October 12 – 15, 2011.

The Summit was a multi-disciplinary consensus conference of NGN and co-sponsoring organization delegates that focused on post-appointment guardian performance and decision-making.  The Summit delegates passed a number of substantive and sweeping recommendations for standards for decision-making for all guardians that will be prepared for implementation and adoption by state legislatures, judiciaries, and by administrative rule.  Recommendations from the Summit will provide the groundwork for nationally recognized standards for guardians of adults.

The Summit is supported by grants from the State Justice Institute and the Borchard Center on Law and Aging,  a program of the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation.

National Guardianship Network

 The National Guardianship Network is a group of national organizations dedicated to effective adult guardianship law and practice. First convened in 2002, NGN  is a collaborative group of leadership organizations with a significant track record of reform, and not an incorporated entity.  NGN includes the following organizations:

• AARP, Public Policy Institute
• The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging
• The American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law
• The Alzheimer’s Association
• The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
• The Center for Guardianship Certification
• The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
• The National Center for State Courts
• The National College of Probate Judges
• The National Guardianship Association

Co-sponsoring Organizations

The National Guardianship Network has included several additional national organizations as co-sponsors of the Summit.  These include:

• The American Bar Association Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law
• The Arc
• The Center for Social Gerontology
• The National Adult Protective Services Association
• The National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs
• The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, Older Persons Divison
• The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
• The National Disability Rights Network 
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Utah Sponsoring Organizations

• The Summit was hosted by the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.  Established in 1913, the College of Law is nationally recognized for its outstanding academic reputation, stellar faculty, innovative curriculum, and highly qualified student body.

• Additional sponsoring organizations in Utah included:  The University of Utah College of Social Work, the University of Utah Center on Aging, the Utah Commission on Aging, and the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts.