ASAN applauds the recently introduced Guardianship Bill of Rights Act. The Act would protect important civil rights, make guardianship rarer and less restrictive, and establish a federal role in setting the standards for guardianship. It would also require data collection on who is under guardianship in the United States and how those guardianships happen. This information could be used to support guardianship prevention and alternatives. We call on Congress to pass this important legislation without delay.
ASAN opposes guardianship, as it deprives members of our community of the right to make their own decisions and control their own lives. Guardianship is also prone to abuse and neglect. ASAN supports efforts to create alternatives to guardianship and protect the rights of people facing guardianship petitions and people under guardianship. We believe in every person’s right to shape their own life. Our long-term goal is to replace guardianship with tools that give people the support they need to make their own choices.
The Guardianship Bill of Rights would increase access to these tools across the country. It would give people more access to lawyers in guardianship cases so they could better defend their rights. It would require courts to explore less restrictive alternatives before a person could be given a guardian. It would create a national set of minimum standards for due process protections in guardianship cases. This would help people who are at risk of guardianship have a better chance to defend themselves in court. It would create a national set of standards for the civil rights of people under guardianship. This would give people who have guardians more protection from guardians limiting how they live.
This Act would provide real accountability for states that fail to protect the rights of people at risk of or under guardianship. States that did not set rules giving people facing guardianship a fair chance to defend themselves in court, or did not protect the rights of people with guardians, would have some kinds of federal funding cut. States might also face federal funding cuts if they did not honor alternatives to guardianship, like supported decision-making.
Additionally, the Bill would establish data collection practices that would provide a better picture of guardianship at both state and national levels. This data would be disaggregated to show how guardianship affects people along race and gender lines; by living situation; and by age and type of disability. This would help advocates understand how and why guardianships are happening. More data could help create and implement alternatives to guardianship and identify communities that have an unusual amount of guardianship, inequities in who gets a guardian, or other serious problems.
We appreciate this immense effort to protect the rights of people with disabilities, and call on Congress to pass this legislation promptly. This is an important step towards our goal of ending guardianships for everyone.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!