Project Guardianship began in 2005 as a social justice initiative of the Vera Institute of Justice in collaboration with the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA). Together, they launched The Guardianship Project, a pilot program designed to address critical gaps in guardianship and elder services for New Yorkers with limited resources and no family support.
The goal of the pilot was to create the ideal model of agency-based guardianship—one that focused on delivering person-centered care to older adults and people with disabilities. This included a commitment to the least restrictive arrangement possible, maximizing client participation in decision-making, and helping clients live and age in their homes and communities. Over time, our approach proved effective at improving the health, safety, and dignity of our clients as well as saving public dollars.
In 2020, The Guardianship Project became Project Guardianship, an independent nonprofit organization. In doing so, we expanded our work beyond guardianship services to include training and education for fellow guardians and caregivers as well as advocacy to improve New York’s guardianship system.