About The Program

The Oregon Public Guardian and Conservator Program (OPG) serves as court-appointed, surrogate decision makers for adults that are incapable of making some or most of the decisions necessary for their basic care and safety. The Oregon Public Guardian is the guardian of last resort and only serves when there is no less restrictive option available for addressing a serious safety risk and no appropriate alternative guardian is available.

Guardianship is one of the most severe restrictions on an individual's right to self-determination and should never be considered lightly. Under guardianship, a person loses the right to make decisions about their own lives. A guardian has the authority to determine where someone lives, what services they receive, who their doctor is, what medical care and procedures they receive, how their income is spent, who may visit them and many other decisions that most people take for granted. Guardianship should only be considered as an option if all other less restrictive alternatives have been attempted and failed, or evaluated to be non-viable.

OPG follows nationally recognized guardianship standards. All OPG professional staff are National Certified Guardians by the Center for Guardianship Certification (CGC). OPG follows the National Guardianship Association (NGA) model practice standards and ethical principles as well as all Oregon legal requirements for guardians under statute.

Need For Services

Oregon has a very high need for public guardian services. In 2012, the Public Guardian and Conservator Task Force estimated that between 1,575 and 3,175 adult Oregonians are incapacitated and need but lack services. Even with maximized attempts to identify less restrictive alternatives to guardianship and alternate guardians where appropriate, OPG estimates that there are still between 500 and 1,000 adult Oregonians in need of public guardian services.  With current resources, OPG has caseload capacity for approximately 160-185 clients.

Priority Of Cases

Even with open caseload capacity, due to our ultimately limited resources, the program lacks the capacity to become involved in every case; at this time cases are being triaged and prioritized based on highest need. OPG generally will not undertake guardianship where the only goal is to facilitate placement, involuntary treatment or address public safety issues.  However, due to COVID-19, OPG is working closely with hospitals to help facilitate placement for individuals facing long-term incapacity issues that have become stuck in hospitals.

To be considered for Oregon Public Guardianship an individual must fall into one of the three priorities list below:

1) Individuals at imminent or ongoing chronic risk of serious harm or death due their circumstances and incapacity;

2) Individuals momentarily safe, but currently held in a medical or psychiatric hospital and unable to safely discharge without the oversight of a guardian;

3) Individuals currently living in an independent living situation (own home or rental) who will not be able to safely maintain in that living situation on their own, but could continue to do so safely with guardian oversight.

Required For All Cases

Prospective referrals are first screened by OPG and then, if accepted as a referral, a full assessment is completed to determine if the person meets criteria for OPG guardianship services.

In addition to the priority criteria above, all prospective cases must meet the following requirements:

     • Must be age 18 or older and a resident of the state of Oregon.

     • Must be incapacitated as defined by Oregon law.

     • There is no less restrictive alternative to guardianship or conservatorship.   These can include voluntary consent by the individual to receive necessary services, appointment of a healthcare representative through an advanced directive, appointment of a representative payee for benefits, civil commitment and others.

     • No other responsible person is able or willing to serve as guardian or conservator for the person.

     • A viable plan for improving the care and safety of the individual must be possible.

The Oregon Public Guardian & Conservator

Chris Rosin was appointed as the Oregon Public Guardian & Conservator in September 2017 and was reappointed again in January of 2022. Chris has experience as a Deputy Public Guardian and Adult Protective Services Specialist. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law and is a licensed attorney in Oregon. Chris has a passion for advocating for our society's most vulnerable, and leads the OPG program with a focus on supporting the clients served to have the most independence and self-direction of their own lives that is safely possible.

Current Status

The OPG program was fortunate to receive program expansion funding from the legislature in the 2021 legislative session.  The additional funding has allowed the program to double our staff, expanding from four Deputy Public Guardians serving the state to eight, along with a new intake and screening position, and a new deputy program director position. These new resources have allowed the program to double overall caseload capacity, and we now have some open capacity in all areas of the state. As a result, we are currently able to accept referrals for new cases in all areas of the state. Please refer to