Approximately 12,000 adults in Virginia were under guardianship according to a Joint Legislative
Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study 2020. Most adults under guardianship are served by
private guardians, but indigent adults who do not have someone who is willing to serve as their
guardian may be served by guardians who work for 13 organizations that provide state-funded
“public” guardianship services. Virginia’s public guardianship program serves approximately 1,000
indigent adults under guardianship and is managed and overseen by the Department for Aging and
Rehabilitative Services (DARS). Demand exceeds available slots in the public guardianship program.
Nearly 700 individuals are currently on waitlists for public guardianship services, and the waitlists
will likely grow. More than half of the public slots are dedicated to individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities or serious mental health issues. People who fall into these categories
tend to be relatively young when a guardian is appointed and are likely to remain in public
guardianship for a long period; therefore, the number of public slots that open up over time is
unlikely to keep pace with additional demand.
