A National Perspective on Guardianship & Decisional Support

 2017 Conference –
Guardianship & Decisional Support: A National Perspective

Please join us on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Morris Auditorium, First Floor, Federal Reserve Bank Building, 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA, for the Institute's 2017 Conference on Guardianship & Decisional Support Services: A National Perspective. 

The Conference has received approval for 6 Continuing Education Credits by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), Center for Guardianship Certification, National Academy of Certified Care Managers, Commission for Case Manager Certification and for Nursing Certification at all levels.


This Conference will explore the social, clinical and legal status of guardianship and decisional support strategies in 2017, both in Massachusetts and nationally.  It will include:

• Research and ethical considerations in the determination of decisional capacity
• Updates on proposed guardianship reform in Massachusetts
• Review of recent revisions to the Unform Guardianship Act
• Discussion of policy and procedure for restoration of rights and alternatives to guardianship
• Updates on the current heightened awareness of autonomy for those subject to guardianship

The Conference is directed at a broad audience of professional and lay guardians, social workers, case managers, nurses, geriatric care managers, attorneys, first responders, and others working in fields where they may encounter individuals with functional impairment in the ability make critical medical and/or financial decisions. 

Early-Bird Registration:  $35 for those who register by November 1, 2017.  Registration on or after November 2, 2017 is $55.  Fee includes materials, Continental Breakfast and Lunch.  Scholarships are available in appropriate circumstances.
  8:15‐9:00
Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00‐9:15
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Hon. Scott Harshbarger, Casner & Edwards, LLC, former Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

9:15‐10:15
Bird’s Eye View: New Uniform Act, Restoration, and Leadership in Guardianship
Erica Wood, J.D., Assistant Director, Amercan Bar Association Commission on Law & Aging

10:15‐10:30:  Break

10:30‐11:30
Decisional Capacity
Jennifer Moye, PhD, Associate Director of Research & Education at the VA New England Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center; Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School

11:30‐12:30
View from the Bench: Appointment, Expansion & Discharge of Guardianship
Hon. Paula Carey, Chief Justice, Massachusetts Trial Court

12:30‐1:15:  Lunch

1:15‐2:15
Keynote Presentation: Ethical Strategies for End-of-Life Decision-Making
Viki Kind, M.A. Clinical Bioethicist and Medical Educator

2:15‐3:15
Alternatives to Guardianship:  The Dignity of Risk
Robert Fleishner, J.D., former Assistant Director, Center for Public Representation

3:15‐3:30:  Break

3:30‐4:30
Current Research and Policy Developments in Public Guardianship
Peter Macy, J.D., Ed.M.; John J. Ford, Esq.; Wynn Gerhard, Esq.; Heather Connors, PhD

4:30‐5:00
Wrap-Up and Evaluations