A local 501C3 organization serving our most vulnerable citizens
Protecting & Advocating,
A non profit guardianship serving the indigent and vulnerable of our Society
Your generous donation will fund our mission.
About Us
Our Mission
Our Mission is to provide high quality, cost effective and ethical services in the performance of our duties as Court appointed Guardians for the indigent of Suffolk County.
Guardianship Corps Goals are:
1. To assist our clients towards the highest practicable level of functioning and independence possible;
2. To act as a monitor, conduit and a resource for volunteers so they may act as an advocate for each Client;
3. To provide the County, the Court System and the Citizens of Suffolk County with ethical, professional and caring administrative and case
management service for our most vulnerable citizens. nonprofit
Our History
Guardianship Corp is an approved 501(c)(3) Not for Profit Agency that was formed in September 2018 to fill a large and growing unmet need in our Society. As many in our Society live longer lives, have fewer children or outlive their children, and/or live distant or estranged from relatives, the Courts are faced with a burgeoning problem to find needed guardians for cases that present to the Court. The usual route of paying for an attorney to perform these important functions breakdown when there are no funds to pay for the services.
In early 2018, discussions initiated by Judge Richard Horowitz, Acting Supreme Court Judge, with Pegi Orsino, Executive Director of RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program). Judge Horowitz reached out in his attempt to fill this increasingly difficult role for responsible people to step up and act as a guardian for a stranger without family, friends or neighbors. As the Judge explained, more cases are being presented to the Court, from nursing homes, hospitals, and APS (Adult Protective Services) that require time, attention and assistance in order to ensure that the welfare of an individual in our community is not in jeopardy and that their long term quality of life is maintained.
His original idea was to have the volunteers themselves serve as Guardians. In further discussions this was deemed too high a burden for retired individuals to take on for a complete stranger. However, the concept of a not for profit entity being appointed as the Guardian, utilizing, or as we like to say, powered by RSVP volunteers, to act as the eyes and ears of the Agency, was born.
Almost simultaneously to these local discussions, unbeknownst at the time, a Joint Senate Round Table Hearing of the Health & Judiciary Committees was held in Albany in January 2018 to explore problems surrounding Guardianships across the State.
The result of this hearing was a Senate Initiative to fund 2 demonstration projects on Long Island. The Suffolk Project was Guardianship Corp, a Volunteer based model that seeks to provide increased visitation and support to clients while keeping costs down to a minimum. The vision is that by combining a small, critical cadre of paid staff with caring, dedicated RSVP volunteers acting as foot soldiers, in the role of Guardianship Corp Monitors, we would be able to provide high quality monitoring and support services to our clients while controlling costs through economies of scale.
What we have accomplished
Guardianship Corp started operations in October 2018 training our first class of volunteers, hiring staff and securing office space at Touro Law School as of November 1, 2018. We were appointed to cases starting at the end of November and have been appointed to 50 to date.
Our innovative volunteer based model has proven to be very effective. Client visitation is significantly enhanced over the minimum 4 visits per year which is mandated. Utilizing volunteers as "eyes and ears" on our clients, Guardianship has been able to demonstrate high quality case management for all of our clients.
Guardianship Corp was first funded by New York State through a Senate Initiative in 2018 (from October 2018 through September 2019)
in the 2018/19 New York State budget for $250,000. We have also received additional funding from the Office of Court Administration for $50,000.
Guardianship Corp is seeking sustainable, diverse funding sources to continue operations and grow capacity to serve upwards of 250 cases over the next 5 years.