John Reginald "Reg" White Scholarship
The Kentucky Guardianship Association is proud to announce the establishment of the John Reginald "Reg" White Scholarship. A native of Vine Grove, Kentucky, Reg was a 1976 graduate of the University of Kentucky School of Social Work. Upon graduation, he worked in institutional community settings serving individuals with physical and developmental disabilities. His career in public service with Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services included working in the social work department at Eastern State Hospital, the public guardianship program, and the statewide adult protection and guardianship services branch.
His focus was always client oriented, and his advocacy for vulnerable adults and children was tireless. Individuals who were privledged to work with him were inspired by his dedication, empathy, and most of all, his humor. Many of those Reg served viewed him as a close personal friend, someone who listened and went out of his way to see that needs were met. Reg retired from state service in July of 2008 and within a month of his retirement, he died from cancer.
Reg's entire professional career was dedicated to service and protection of vulnerable adults in Kentucky. He often expressed a concern for the lack of support for students whose chosen career path was serving vulnerable adults. Reg was a founding member of the Kentucky Guardianship Association, Inc. It is with great pride that we name this scholarhip in his honor and present this award to students who choose to work with adults.
Raising the Bar on Guardianship:
Protecting our Nation’s most Vulnerable Citizens
NEW YORK CITY – October 3, 2009 - The Council on Accreditation (COA), the premiere international human service accrediting body of community-based social and behavioral healthcare services, announced today that COA and the National Guardianship Association (NGA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will promote quality improvement in adult guardianship systems through COA accreditation.
This partnership follows COA’s recent release of its Adult Guardianship Standards, which support improved quality of life and reduced risk of abuse or exploitation through transparent, ethical operations; manageable workloads; regular contact with service recipients; and ongoing monitoring of service quality and effectiveness.
“COA has always strived to be forward thinking in identifying service areas that can benefit from standards development,” said Richard Klarberg, COA’s Chief Executive Officer. “The adult guardianship service standards were developed in response to a significant increase in the aging population and the resulting need for national accreditation standards that would help to protect and improve outcomes for this vulnerable population. Our partnership with NGA takes that commitment one step further, by collaborating with NGA to mutually promote excellence and quality in the field of adult guardianship.”
As part of this partnership, NGA will promote COA accreditation among its members and encourage them to serve as COA peer reviewers, team leaders, commissioners, and standards panelists. In addition, COA will support NGA’s annual Conference on Guardianship in Las Vegas, Nevada in October 2009, provide trainings to NGA members interested in accreditation or becoming peer reviewers, and promote NGA’s standards and code of ethics.
“NGA is very excited to be partnering with COA,” said Terry Hammond, NGA’s Executive Director. “NGA has a long history of working with specialists in the field to support our mission of establishing and promoting a nationally recognized standard of excellence in the field of adult guardianship. Through our partnerships with COA, we will be able to expand our work and help our membership ensure that services are of the highest quality. In addition to standards specific to adult guardianship service delivery, COA’s administrative standards cover critical areas such as Ethical Practice, Risk Prevention and Management, Client Rights, and Financial Management, which will go a long way to identify high quality, transparent programs that are making a positive difference in the lives of individuals receiving services. The partnership between NGA and COA will greatly improve the landscape of guardianship in America”
The release of COA’s adult guardianship accreditation standards and the evolving partnership between NGA and COA, have stakeholders for both organizations excited about the impact these events will have on their field. Jenni Frumer, Associate Executive Director of Alpert Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Palm Beach County, Inc., said “As a member of NGA and as a Senior Executive of an organization accredited by COA for the past 18 years, I value the synergy this partnership brings to the practice and enhanced professionalism of guardianship nationally. Throughout our work we come across individuals who have been exploited by irresponsible or dishonest guardians. As a COA peer reviewer for over 20 years, I firmly believe in the COA accreditation process and the impact that implementing these standards will have on preventing such abuse in the future and improving the quality of services provided to this vulnerable population.
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Founded in 1977, COA is an independent not-for-profit international accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and human service organizations. Today, over 1800 organizations - public and private - are either COA accredited or are in the process of seeking accreditation. These organizations serve over 7 million of our most vulnerable individuals each year.
The National Guardianship Association is a membership organization seeking to provide educational, training, and networking opportunities for guardians and about guardianship; promote the highest levels of values, standards, and ethics; to promote public policy designed to enhance guardianship services; and to ensure a nationally recognized standard of excellence. If you would like more information about NGA, please call 877.326.5992 or visit them on the web at: www.guardianship.org.