Maryland The Adult Public Guardianship Program 

The Adult Public Guardianship program in the state of Maryland is administered by the Department of Human Services. The program provides a guardian to an adult who is mentally or physically ill and need support in decision making. The purpose of the program is to ensure the safety of the adult who is unable to look after themselves.
The program works through a legal process in which the court decides if a disabled person is physically and mentally healthy or not to make their own decision. Individuals are unable to make take decisions regarding their safety and health due to a disability that can be from an accident, a lethal disease, or a critical medical condition are then given a guardian or caretaker that takes all these decisions on their behalf.

Individuals who are eligible for the Maryland Adult Public Guardianship program are adults between the ages of 18-64 overseen by the Department of Social Services. The Department of Aging administers the program for adults older than 65 years of age.

It should be kept in mind that the Adult Public Guardianship program is only for adults who do not have another family member, relative, or friends who can take care of them, and hence this is the last resort for them.

The main objective of the Maryland Adult Public Guardianship Program is to help elder or disabled people to be stable while providing them with support services so that they can live a happy and safe life. The program analyzes the situation of the eligible citizens and comes up with different remedies to help ease their pain and get them out of challenging experiences they are suffering in their lives

There are two types of guardianship programs by the Maryland Adult Public Guardianship Program. The first type is the one where the court appoints a person, legally, as the guardian of the disabled person. The guardian helps the disabled adult in making medical and health-related decisions. The second type of guardianship is where the court appoints either an agency or a person who manages the property of the disabled adult.  The agency cannot be public and the guardian of a property at the same time.

Each county in the state of Maryland has its own Adult Public Guardianship Review Board and provides consultancy services to each guardian of the applicants. The board is responsible for reviewing the public guardianship in each county where they assess each guardian and analyze the situation. The review is done every six months by the Adult Public Guardianship Review Boards all over the state. Based on the assessment they board then make any changes or modification to the laws and court as well as the guardianship responsibilities of a person. The state does not have any specific or standard mechanism to inspect that public guardianship cases in the state and it varies from county to county and based on the nature of the cases.
The Board consists of a diverse group of people from the various backgrounds to oversee the cases including staff from the local department of aging, a lawyer that represents that case and a local service representative. There is also a psychiatrist or psychologist from that county on the Adult Public Guardianship Review Board committee. A medical doctor i.e. a physician or a nurse. Other than that, the board also has to tow citizens from that county and a professional doctor for disabled people.

To learn more about Maryland the Adult Public Guardianship Program via phone contact the office at 1-800-332-6347

Also Discover: Maryland Project SAFE (Stop Adult Financial Exploitation)