JVCC director reports stable guardian numbers, low exam pass rates and plans for exam and rule changes

The JVCC director told the Guardianship Certification Advisory Board on July 29 that the number of certified guardians in Texas is stable even as the agency works to boost certification rates and update exam and rule processes.

The director said, “Right now, as of today, we have 377 active certified guardians, 258 pending certification,” and reported 87 active provisional guardians and 37 pending provisional applications. He added that 98 complaints about certified guardians or guardianship programs had been filed since fiscal 2020; four of those complaints remain under investigation. The director said complaints had resulted in “10 complaints resulting in program nonreal, although all from the same program, 12 complaints resulting in certification revocation from 3 different individuals,” plus reprimands, suspensions, surrenders and withdrawals.

The update flagged an exam pass-rate challenge as a key operational issue. The director said the number of candidates sitting for the certified-guardianship exam has averaged between about 60 and 90 annually in recent years and that the average pass rate “sits…