Revision 22-1; Effective Nov. 1, 2022

The following change(s) were made:

Section	Title	Change
1000	A Referral to Guardianship Contractor’s Procedures	Edits language and updates supervisor considerations. Adds information on resignation of HHSC of guardian.
2000	Billing and Payment Procedures	Updates relevant title and chapter in TAC where payment specifications are found. Edits language.
3400	Entrance Conference	Adds that an entrance conference can be held virtually or by TEAMS meeting.
3500	General Information	Updates relevant title and chapter in TAC where guardianship rules are found.
3600	Determining if a Guardianship Principle is Met or Unmet	Updates relevant title and chapter in TAC where recommendations for sanctions are found.
3700	Guardianship Principles and Benchmarks	Edits language.
3710	Guardianship Principle 1: Legal	Adds new section number. Edits language.
3720	Guardianship Principle 2: Case Management	Adds new section for case management benchmarks.
3730	Guardianship Principle 3: Documentation	Updates relevant title and chapter in TAC and edits language.
3740	Guardianship Principle 4: Financial and Estate Management	Removes annual financial and room and board negotiations from list of determinations. Adds question of court permission to property sales review. Adds outcome for benchmark. Edits language.
3750	Guardianship Principle 5: Health and Safety	Specifies 24 hours as timeframe for a contractor to report allegations of neglect or abuse to a regulating authority.
3760	Guardianship Principle 6: Quality Assurance	Updates language and references to sections and codes under TGC. Adds requirement that copies of new policies will be requested quarterly from contractors.
3770	Guardianship Principle 7: Contractor Reimbursement	Edits language.
3780	Guardianship Principle 8: Ward Status Update	Edits language.
Form 5012	Contract Monitoring Visit Summary Report	Deletes Form 5012 from handbook.

Revision 20-1; Effective September 1, 2019

Miscellaneous changes were made in all sections of the handbook effective September 1, 2019. All references to the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) are changed to Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

Revision 13-1; Effective November 1, 2013

The following changes were made:

Section	Title	Change
All Sections		Clarifies standard operation procedure and roles for DADS staff and contractors. Reflects policy change in referring guardianship of the person only.
1000	A Referral to Guardianship Contractor's Procedures	Reflects changes regarding guardianship of the person only referrals. Clarifies determination of appropriate successor guardianships with the required materials for contractor referral packets. Modifies the begin date of reimbursement due to a change in policy. Contractor referral forms with a date of acceptance after the 15th of the month will no longer be paid one-half of the unit rate for the month. Amends extensions for applications of guardianship to add: After guardianship is obtained by the contractor, the file stamped letters of guardianship and a copy of the oath must be emailed, mailed or faxed by the contractor to the contract manager and guardianship supervisor. The contract manager will scan and attach the letters and oath in the ward’s case file. Clarifies the resignation of DADS as guardian for referred cases to clarify the procedures of contractor, guardianship supervisor and DADS regional attorney. Clarifies the transfer of records for successor guardianship with added duties and responsibilities of the guardianship supervisor and guardianship specialist to provide the contractor with the ward’s documentation and property within seven calendar days of notification of the successor guardianship. Amends referrals resulting in payment from DADS to add: DADS only pays for contracted wards if DADS was first appointed guardian by the court. Updates the responsibilities of DADS staff to reflect standard operating procedure in documentation in the Guardianship Online Database (GOLD) and DADS responsibilities when a case is transferred.
2000	Billing and Payment Procedures	Moves and revises the information previously in Section 3000.
3000	Protocol and Contract Monitoring Guidance	Moves and revises the information previously in Section 4000.
4000	Deleted	Moves the information previously in these sections to other sections of the handbook.
5000	Deleted	Moves the information previously in these sections to other sections of the handbook.
Glossary	Deleted	Moves the information previously in these sections to other sections of the handbook.
Appendix I	List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE)	Adds a new appendix. Deletes previous appendices.

Revision 08-2; Effective November 7, 2008

The following changes were made:

Section	Title	Change
All Sections		Replaced the term Inventory Management for Protecting Adults and Children in Texas (IMPACT) with Guardianship Online Database (GOLD)
1000	A Referral to Guardianship Contractor's Procedures	Replaced the term certificate of medical eligibility with Certificate of Medical Examination.
2000	Referral of Wards for Successor Guardianship	Under the heading called Transfer of Records for Successor Guardianship, the term checkbook(s) was replaced with checkbook registry. The following text was added: The contractor is responsible for securing and safeguarding the ward’s resources, benefits and property immediately upon appointment of guardianship, and for becoming the representative payee for the ward, as applicable. The contractor must not engage in activities, or seek to transfer the ward’s resources, benefits or estate in the contractor’s name, prior to being appointed guardian. After the appointment, it is important for the contractor to make every effort to secure the ward’s financial information and to become the identified guardian of the record so the ward’s bills will be paid timely. The contractor must have the ward’s financial accounts restyled and signature cards completed upon appointment. A contractor may charge the bond required by the court to a ward’s estate if the ward’s estate has sufficient funds to pay the bond, and the contractor is or will be guardian of the estate or guardian of the person and estate. A contractor may not charge legal fees for guardianship of the estate, guardianship of the person and estate, and may not charge bond or legal fees for guardianship of the person. If the contractor is guardian of the person and someone else is guardian of the estate and there are enough funds in the estate, the contractor may work with the guardian of the estate for payment of the bond. Added “calendar” to the last sentence of the section: It is imperative the contractor file the application for guardianship within 30 calendar days from the date of acceptance to assume full responsibility for the ward.
3000	Billing and Payment Procedures	Updated Texas Administrative Code (TAC) reference, corrected link to Appendix II and corrected typographical error.
4000	Protocol and Contract Monitoring Guidance	Updated TAC references.
Appendix II	DADS Regional Offices and Contact Information	Updated document with most recent information.
Glossary	Program Terms	Replaced the term certification of medical eligibility with Certificate of Medical Examination. Added GOLD – Guardianship Online Database
Form 5013	Contractor Referral	Replaced IMPACT with GOLD.