Pennsylvania Reports on Implementation of Recommendations by Elder Law Task Force

In the October 2015 issue of the Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, attorney Owen Kelly reports on “The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Elder Law Task Force Report and Recommendations” as a “Blueprint for Justice.”  His overview provides:

Our  Commonwealth is in the midst of a period of unprecedented growth in its elder population and this growth is projected to continue for the foreseeable future.  The growing elder population will present profound challenges to the Commonwealth’s courts, particularly with respect to guardianships, abuse and neglect, and access to justice.  In April 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court established the Elder Law Task Force to address the impact this growing segment of the population will have on the judicial system.  In November 2014, the Task Force issued its report which contained a multitude of recommendations on a variety of issues related to elders’ interactions with the court system.  Since their creation on January 1, 2015, the two entities charged with overseeing implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations — the Office of Elder Justice in the Courts and the Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts — have been actively implementing many of the recommendations.  Task Force recommendations implemented or in progress include: proposed new and revised guardianship forms; education and training initiatives; proposed changes to the Rules of Criminal Procedure; revising bar admission rules to allow retired or voluntarily inactive attorneys to provide pro bono services for elders; a study of a pilot Elder Court; and changes to the statewide electronic case management system to allow for better monitoring of guardianships.

As someone who was a member of the Task Force, I am glad see that concrete steps are underway to implement changes, especially with respect to better accountability for guardianships on a state-wide basis. Much work is ahead.