SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc.
Linda McConville, Executive Director

It is the mission of SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. to serve as a lifelong advocate for people with developmental disabilities who cannot acquire needed services independently. SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. will work with persons with developmental disabilities, their families, and other service providers to achieve a secure life for those we serve. The organization resolves to preserve the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities and to expand their opportunities and life choices.

Who is SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc.?
SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. is a private non-profit corporation, founded by SCARC, Inc. in 1989 in response to requests from parents to provide guardianship services to people with developmental disabilities. In 1997, SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. once again responded to community needs and reorganized as a Community Trust agency, thus enabling the organization to expand its services. SCARC guardianship services additionally offers a pro se guardianship program. Through this program, families are guided through the guardianship proceedings enabling them to obtain guardianship at a greatly reduced cost.

SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. is a separate entity from SCARC, Inc and is a part of a respected family of services with a history of accountability to the Sussex County community and the State of New Jersey with services available to contiguous counties as well. The SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. Board of Trustees meets monthly to plan for the needs of persons with disabilities, review cases, and oversee the administration of trust funds for the people it serves. This dedicated Board is committed to preserving the rights of individuals, and to providing quality care through a Community Trust.

• Parents CAN arrange for a secure future for their child long after they themselves are gone.
  
• Parents CAN select a successor or co-guardian for their child.
  
• Parents CAN plan and finance a secure future through a special needs trust or a pooled trust.
  
• Parents CAN plan for a lifetime commitment to quality services using the SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. Statement of Life Services document.
  
• Parents CAN provide a "biological portrait" of their child by developing the Life Experiences & Future Choices booklet with SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. staff.
  
• Parents CAN select a trustee who is knowledgeable about the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and what services are available.
  
• Parents who plan, CAN answer the question, "What will happen to my child after I am gone?"
  

What is a Community Trust Agency?
SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. is structured as a community trust agency as set forth in the New Jersey Community Trust for Persons with Severe Chronic Disabilities Act of 1985. A Community Trust agency is designed to:

a) provide administration of special trust funds, pooled or individual, for persons with severe chronic disabilities

b) provide follow-along services, such as advocacy, monitoring, and representative payeeship for the individual's benefits

c) provide guardianship services for persons who are incapacitated

d) encourage the inclusion, as beneficiaries of community trusts, of persons who lack resources and whose families are indigent

e) provide advice and counsel to those who are serving as guardian to individuals with disabilities

As a non-profit Community Trust agency, SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. will be able to provide parents of persons with disabilities peace of mind in knowing that a means exists to ensure that the interests of their children are properly looked after and managed after the parents are no longer able to fulfill this important role.

There is no minimum required, and trusts can be funded through a life insurance policy and/or a family's estate. The trust will not interfere with important government entitlements.

What is Guardianship?
When a child turns 18 years of age, he is automatically considered a competent adult in the eyes of the law. Guardianship is a legal proceeding that designates a parent, relative, friend, or organization to act on behalf of an individual who has developmental disabilities and is unable to manage his or her personal and/or financial affairs without assistance. SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. has a unique program in which parents learn to file the legal papers on their own, thus reducing the costs.

Why is Planning So Important?
Parents of children with developmental disabilities may wonder, "What will happen to my child after I am gone?" or "How can I provide for my child? What are my choices?" Working with SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc., parents can ensure that they or another designee of their choosing may advocate to protect the rights and quality of life of their child.

Planning can maximize available resources for the benefit of the family member who is developmentally disabled. Although no one person or organization can take the place of a parent or other loving, trusted family member, SCARC Guardianship Services, Inc. is uniquely qualified to understand the needs of persons with developmental disabilities and their families.

For more information on SCARC Guardianship Services Inc., contact:
Linda McConville, Executive Director 973-383-7442 ext. 255.