(1) (a) The office of public guardianship is created within the judicial department to serve indigent and incapacitated adults in need of guardianship in every judicial district in the state no later than December 31, 2030. (b) The director shall administer the office and shall coordinate the office's efforts with county departments of human and social services within each judicial district in which the office provides services to clients. (c) (I) The office shall maintain operations in each judicial district in which it is operating on May 30, 2023; shall begin to operate in other judicial districts beginning July 1, 2025; and shall operate in every judicial district in the state no later than December 31, 2030. (II) This subsection (1)(c) is repealed, effective June 30, 2031. (d) Repealed. (1.5) In addition to any other duties or responsibilities set forth in this article 94, the office: (a) May: (I) Initiate petitions for guardianship; and (II) Take any action on behalf of an indigent and incapacitated person that a private guardian may take, except as otherwise limited by law or court order; and (b) Shall use the eligibility criteria and prioritization described in subsection (2)(b) of this section to serve individuals with the greatest needs when the number of cases in which services have been requested exceeds the number of cases in which public guardianship can provide services. (2) In addition to carrying out any duties assigned by the board, the director shall ensure that the office provides, at a minimum, the following services to each judicial district in which the office operates: (a) A review of referrals to the office; (b) Adoption of eligibility criteria and prioritization to enable the office to serve individuals with the greatest needs when the number of cases in which services have been requested exceeds the number of cases in which public guardianship services can be provided; (c) Appointment and post-appointment public guardianship services of a guardian for each indigent and incapacitated adult in need of public guardianship; (d) Support for modification or termination of public guardianship services; (e) Recruitment, training, and oversight of guardians; (f) Maintaining a process for receipt and consideration of, and response to, complaints against the office, including investigation in cases in which investigation appears warranted in the judgment of the director; (g) Implementation and maintenance of a public guardianship data management system; (h) Office management, financial planning, and budgeting for the office to ensure compliance with this article 94; (i) Identification and establishment of relationships with stakeholder agencies, nonprofit organizations, companies, individual care managers, and direct-care providers to provide services within the financial constraints established for the office; (j) Identification and establishment of relationships with local, state, and federal governmental agencies so that guardians may apply for public benefits on behalf of wards to obtain funding and service support, if needed; and (k) Public education and outreach regarding the role of the office. (3) (a) (I) The office shall employ guardians to provide guardianship services to the office's clients. Except as provided in subsection (3)(b)(II) of this section, a guardian must be certified by a state or national organization that certifies guardians. The director shall include in the rules developed pursuant to section 13-94-107 a list of the organizations whose certifications the office recognizes. (II) The office may hire as a guardian a person who is not certified. If the office hires a person who is not certified, the person shall obtain certification within two years after being hired. (b) The director shall adopt professional standards of practice and a code of ethics for guardians, including a policy concerning conflicts of interest. The director may adopt professional standards of practice and a code of ethics developed by a national association of guardians. (c) The office shall provide training to all guardians that includes, at a minimum, instruction in the following areas: (I) The professional standards of practice and code of ethics adopted by the director; (II) Standards for agencies and programs providing guardianship services developed by a national association of guardians and approved by the director; (III) Federal and state laws applicable to providing guardianship services; (IV) Characteristics of the populations served by the office and appropriate terminology to be used when working with the populations served by the office; (V) State and local social services and resources; (VI) Active listening skills; (VII) Best practices in confidentiality, decision-making, ethics, and medical decision- making; and (VIII) Planning supports that include less restrictive alternatives such as limited guardianships and supportive decision-making. (d) Prior to employing a person, the office of public guardianship shall submit the name of the person to be hired, as well as any other required identifying information, to the department of human services for a check of the Colorado adult protective services data system pursuant to section 26-3.1-111 to determine if the person is substantiated in a case of mistreatment of an at- risk adult. (4) On or before January 1 of each year, the director shall submit to the judiciary committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, a report concerning the activities of the office. The report, at a minimum, must summarize the office's work over the prior state fiscal year in providing guardianship services for indigent and incapacitated adults and identify any notable efficiencies and obstacles that the office incurred in providing guardianship services during the prior state fiscal year. The office shall not include any personal identifying information about any client in its annual report. Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the annual report required in this subsection (4) continues indefinitely. (4.5) No later than June 30, 2030, but no earlier than July 1, 2027, the state auditor shall conduct or cause to be conducted a performance audit of the office. (5) In addition to performing the duties described in this section, the director, in consultation with the board, shall develop, periodically evaluate, and, if the director and board determine it is necessary, update a strategy to wind up the office's affairs in the event that the office is discontinued. The strategy must include consideration of how to meet the guardianship needs of adults who will no longer be able to receive guardianship services from the office. (6) Repealed. (6.7) The office is an included agency for the purposes of article 100 of this title 13 and receives administrative and fiscal support services from the office of administrative services for independent agencies. The office and judicial department shall operate pursuant to the memorandum of understanding between the office and the judicial department in effect on the day before May 30, 2023, until the office begins receiving administrative and fiscal support services from the office of administrative services for independent agencies. The office and judicial department may amend the existing memorandum of understanding. (7) Repealed.
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