Jewish Family & Children's Service of Pittsburgh

Power of Attorney (POA)

Through written and notarized power of attornery (POA) documents (no court involvement), individuals can bestow upon JF&CS the legal power to act on their behalf according to the terms of the document when the individual is no longer able to do so. With a POA, Advanced Health Care Directives (AHCD) are able to be put into place by the individual and carried through by the caseworker (an AHCD allows individuals to appoint an agent who has power of attorney to make care and treatment decisions on their behalf, and give instructions about their health care wishes).

How We Protect the Well-Being of Our Clients

• Guardianship caseworkers act as surrogate decision makers, always making decisions in the best interests of the client that are based upon what the clients' decision would be if he/she did not have an impairment.
• Our nationally-recognized guardianship caseworkers develop a personalized POA document for each individual, ensuring that all health care directives are documented and acted upon once that person can no longer give directives on his/her own behalf. Having a POA in place has given many of our clients peace of mind and allowed for services to either be added or revoked per their request
• The Guardianship program follows all standards set forth by the National Guardianship Association, State and County Guidelines.
• JF&CS Guardianship caseworkers are on call 24/7.
• JF&CS Guardianship caseworkers serve a diverse population and are sensitive to all religious and cultural practices.

Meet the People We Help

• Jerry* is a 24 year old young man who has been diagnosed with pancreatic and kidney cancer. Jerry’s cancer is not curable and he was faced with having to make end of life decisions on his own.
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• Gwendolyn* is a survivor of breast cancer for more than 15 years, but her cancer had recently come out of remission. She is 56 years of age and has mild to moderate mental retardation
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*Name changed to protect client confidentiality.

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