IAGS Project Mission & Goals

"I shall pass through this world but once. Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to
any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."
~Etienne de Grellet

The Indiana Adult Guardianship Services Project (IAGS Project) began in 2008. 

The Mission of the IAGS Project is to improve the quality and availability of adult guardianship services for Hoosiers who are age 18 and older and have been determined to be incapable of handling their own personal and financial affairs.

The Purpose of the IAGS Project is to build a framework of community-based adult guardianship services projects / programs across the state.

The Core Principles that guide the planning and activities of the Project include:

• A commitment to serve incapacitated adults through guardianship services that are least restrictive and include specialized services for seniors and persons with disabilities and mental illness
• A commitment to the National Guardianship Association Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics
• A commitment to establish inclusive community-based and statewide networks of courts, attorneys, service providers, guardianship professionals and volunteers, and other advocates who are engaged as stakeholders in an effort to develop effective guardianship services in Indiana
• A commitment to utilizing the services of attorneys, National Certified Guardian professionals and trained and supervised community volunteers as guardians
• A commitment to advocacy on behalf of incapacitated adults and the programs that provide guardianship services in Indiana

1. Support the continued development and implementation of two model Northwest Indiana adult guardianship services initiatives that incorporate the National Guardianship Association Standards and Ethics and use trained and supervised community volunteers as guardians. The two models are Northwest Indiana Adult Guardianship Services, Inc. and the Volunteer Advocates for Seniors Program of the SSFHS Saint Margaret Mercy Hospital.
2. Organize and convene community-based key stakeholders groups to facilitate the strategic planning, development and implementation of adult guardianship services projects / programs at targeted county pilot project sites.
3. Conduct an academic research / review of national and Indiana guardianship demographics, data, statutes, funding sources and the recommended best practices for guardianship services, standards, regulation and certification.
4. Convene a multidisciplinary Indiana Adult Guardianship Services Issues & Needs State Task Force to support the development and provision of adult guardianship services across the state. 
5. Provide educational opportunities (Northwest Indiana Guardianship Services Symposium and the Indiana State Symposium:Adult Guardianship Issues and Needs) on adult guardianship issues, needs and practices.
6. Increase national awareness of the IAGS Project and facilitate the participation of Indiana judges, attorneys and guardianship professionals and volunteers at the national level. 

For more information on any of our goals, check out our Projects and Activities page.