Beyond
Guardianship
Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute
September 2026
A pivotal month for guardianship reform in Massachusetts. |
Person-Centered Guardianship Between Strangers
By Peter M. Macy, JD, EdM. Peter is a founding member of the Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute and Executive Director of Public Guardian Services
It is widely understood that the ethical practice of guardianship includes safeguarding the autonomy of the individual while supporting the health, safety, and happiness as much as possible in the way that the person defines it. This is what is meant by person-centered guardianship: a respectful balance of stepping in and stepping out, so that support is not smothering or coercive.
Often, this comes naturally to family-member guardians guided by love. There is also a growing body of training, educational materials, and support groups, such as those sponsored by the Center for Guardianship Excellence, that family guardians can access in order to deepen their understanding and more effectively offer support that centers on the whole person.
Stranger Guardianship
The question we raise in this article is how guardianship can be person-centered when the incapacitated person and the guardian are complete strangers, unknown to one another prior to the appointment. This is the situation for about a third of the guardianships in Massachusetts. It is the result of a confluence of incapacity, poverty, and social isolation in a situation of immanent risk of personal or financial harm to the individual or to others. We refer to it here as “stranger guardianship.”
In the News:
A Major Step Forward: DPH Releases Long-Awaited Guardianship Report
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has released its long-awaited report on qualified professional guardians. The report finds a significant need for paid, trained guardians and concludes that expanding access to professional guardianship could reduce hospital discharge delays and improve access to long-term and preventive care.
DPH identifies adequate compensation as the single most important policy recommendation and also calls for stronger training, certification, monitoring, and other reforms to reduce unnecessary guardianship and improve the system statewide.
Boston Globe Editorial Board Calls for State-Funded Guardianship System in Massachusetts
In a major development for guardianship reform, The Boston Globe Editorial Board is calling on Massachusetts to establish a publicly funded guardianship system for people who cannot afford a guardian. The editorial comes just weeks after DPH released its long-awaited report identifying adequate compensation as the most important step toward expanding access to qualified professional guardians.
Importantly, the Globe highlights the Institute's six-year, $6 million demonstration program, built to show that quality professional guardianship can work. As MGPI Elder Justice Fellow Wynn A. Gerhard told the Globe:
“We try to make the point that this is what good guardianship is, this is how it can be done.”
After years of research, demonstration, and advocacy, this represents a powerful moment of momentum toward lasting statewide change.
James Lomastro: Public Guardianship Must Include Strong Safeguards
In a letter to the Boston Globe, James A. Lomastro adds an important perspective to the growing conversation around publicly funded guardianship in Massachusetts. While supporting the need for a public guardian program, Lomastro argues that reform must also protect individual autonomy through strong safeguards, independent oversight, supported decision-making, and meaningful opportunities for people to have a voice in decisions affecting their lives.
As he writes:
“Protection is necessary. Protection without voice becomes paternalism.”
Scott Harshbarger Calls for Urgent Action on Guardianship
Last month, we shared the Boston Globe's feature on Massachusetts' guardianship crisis. In response, former Massachusetts Attorney General and Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute member Scott Harshbarger submitted a letter to the editor calling on state leaders to act.
Scott argues that the guardianship crisis is solvable, but only if policymakers bring greater urgency, accountability, and leadership to an issue that continues to affect thousands of vulnerable adults across the Commonwealth.
Our People:
Our 2026 Summer Gathering: Bringing the Guardianship Community Together
This summer, colleagues and partners from across Guardian Community Trust, Public Guardian Services, the Center for Guardianship Excellence, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute came together aboard the Valiant for our annual summer gathering.
The gathering brought together an extraordinary community of people working across guardianship, law, elder and disability advocacy, public policy, education, and direct care. Under the leadership of Peter Macy, advocates including Paul Lanzikos, John Ford, Heather Connors, and others from across the legal and guardianship communities, alongside the guardians, care managers, attorneys, educators, and staff whose work directly supports vulnerable individuals every day.
More than an opportunity to celebrate, the day reflected that meaningful guardianship reform depends on people across disciplines coming together around a shared commitment to better care.
The gathering also provided an opportunity to recognize two individuals whose leadership has helped build and strengthen that community for decades: Wynn A. Gerhard and Scott Harshbarger.
Honoring Wynn A. Gerhard
The Wynn A. Gerhard Building
In recognition of more than four decades of advocacy and public service, Guardian Community Trust dedicated the PGS headquarters in Braintree as the Wynn A. Gerhard Building.
A co-founder of MGPI and instrumental in the development of PGS, Wynn has devoted her career to advancing the dignity and well-being of older adults and people with disabilities across Massachusetts.
Honoring Scott Harshbarger
Community Trust Lighthouse Award for Vision and Faith in Public Life
Former Massachusetts Attorney General and founding MGPI member Scott Harshbarger received the Community Trust Lighthouse Award, recognizing his lifetime of public service, commitment to civil society, and advocacy for vulnerable people. Scott's wisdom, credibility, and leadership have helped open doors and advance the Institute's mission from its earliest years.
Looking Beyond Massachusetts: Project Guardianship
Project Guardianship is a New York nonprofit working to advance person-centered guardianship and build a more equitable and accessible guardianship system.
Through direct services, training and education, policy advocacy, and the promotion of less-restrictive alternatives, the organization is helping shape what high-quality guardianship can look like both for individuals and at a systems level.
Project Guardianship also publishes an excellent newsletter featuring guardianship news, policy developments, resources, and updates from their work. We encourage our readers to explore their resources and follow their work.
Never Miss a Story.
Learn More About Us
Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute — research, policy, and advocacy
Guardian Community Trust, Inc. — funding and care coordination
Public Guardian Services (PGS) — person-centered guardianship in practice