Juvenile Court, Part Iv the Public Defender's Rules and Regulations for the Guardians Ad Litem Program
| Jurisdiction | Wyoming,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 32 No. 1 Pg. 6 |
| Pages | 6 |
| Publication year | 2009 |
Vol. 32, No. 1, 6. Juvenile Court, Part IV The Public Defender's Rules and Regulations for the Guardians Ad Litem Program
Issue: February, 2009
Becoming and acting as a competent guardian ad litem ("GAL") in any kind of case is difficult. Such persons "should have a combination of knowledge, training, experience, and ability which allows them to effectively discharge their duties" to the children they are appointed to represent.(fn1) That combination is hard to achieve and maintain, and four Ethically Speaking columns in the WYOMING LAWYER can only scratch the surface of the necessary legal knowledge and skills required to be a competent GAL. Fortunately, Wyoming's Children's Justice Project is planning to publish a handbook for GALs this year which should provide much more comprehensive guidance. In the meantime, knowing about the Public Defender's new Rules and Reegulations for the Guardians Ad Litem Program ("GAL Rules") is critical for lawyers who act as GALs, or otherwise participate in, juvenile courts or termination of parental rights ("TPR") cases that result from juvenile cases.
The GAL Rules: An Overview
The GAL Rules establish the qualifications and training requirements for GALs to participate in the GAL Program, as well as the standards they must meet in performing their function, and the procedures to be followed in submitting bills and getting paid for providing GAL services. As not just any lawyer can act as and get paid by the GAL Program, lawyers need to know how to qualify to both provide GAL services and get paid for doing so.
The GAL Rules were adopted by the Wyoming Public Defender's ("PD") Office on October 30, 2008, after two rounds of public comments.(fn2) They were subsequently signed by the Governor and all steps necessary for them to become effctive have been taken (as rules promulgated pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, the GAL Rules have the force and effect of law.(fn3)). They replace emergency GAL rules that were previously in effect. The GAL Rules also effectively replace Uniform Rule for District Court 106, which governed the GAL Program during the time it was administered by the Wyoming Supreme Court, before it was transferred to the PD's Office.(fn4) The GAL Rules are divided into three chapters, each of which is discussed in detail below.
General Provisions
Chapter 1 contains "General Provisions." Section 2 specifies the "Purpose and Applicability" of the rules and the GAL Program they govern. "The Purpose of the Guardians Ad Litem Program (the Program) is to contract with, supervise and manage attorneys providing legal representation as guardians ad litem" in Child Protection, CHINS (Child in Need of Supervision), and TPR cases.(fn5) The Program "does not apply to a juvenile delinquency proceeding except that an attorney appointed to serve only as a guardian ad litem . . . may . . . be eligible for compensation under the Program."(fn6)
Section 4 contains a statement of the Program's "Policy." Among other things, several guidelines from the NACC (National Association of Counsel for Children) Recommendations for Representation of Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases are adopted.(fn7) "The Program and Program GALs shall embody these [NACC] policies and strive to fulfil these ideals."(fn8) "Each child," according to the NACC, "is a unique human being . . . vested with certain fundamental rights, including a right to physical and emotional health and safety."(fn9) Accordingly, "[e]ach child subject to a child protection proceeding must be provided an independent, competent and zealous attorney" with appropriate training and ample time.(fn10) Such representation "is critical to ensuring the timeliness of [juvenile court] proceedings."(fn11) In addition, such attorneys "play a critical role in advocating for permanency [for children] . . . ."(fn12)
To competently fulfill their role, the lawyers who act as GALs "should have a combination of knowledge, training, experience, and ability which allows them to effectively discharge their duties" to the children they are appointed to represent.(fn13) Finally, in accordance with the 2008 transfer legislation, "[t]he State Public Defender . . . is the final authority in administering" the GAL Program."(fn14)
The GAL Rules contain a definitional section, the most important definition of which is "best interests" (though the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct state that a GAL represents "the best interests"(fn15) of the child, that term is not defined in those rules). "Best interests" means:
Section 8 of chapter 1 is entitled "Program Administration." It notes that the PD's Office "[s]hall, in its discretion, set standard fee schedules" for GALs.(fn17) And, in a departure from previous practice in which a juvenile court appointed a specific lawyer as GAL, when a court appoints the GAL Program "the Program shall assign an attorney with whom it has contracted to serve as a guardian ad litem.."(fn18)[A] determination of the most appropriate course of action based on objective considerations of the child's specific needs and preferences. The determination of the best interests of the child should be based on objective criteria as set forth in the law that are related to the purposes of the proceedings. The criteria should address the child's specific needs and preferences, the goal of expeditious resolution of the case so the child can remain or return home or be placed in a safe, nurturing, and permanent environment, and the use of the least restrictive detrimental alternatives available. This determination must include the presumption that it is in the child's best interest to be with his or her parent(s), as outlined by the Wyoming Supreme Court in In re Guardianship of MEO, 2006 WY 87, 138 P.3d 1145 (Wyo. 2006).(fn16)
Although the PD's Office is the "final authority" over the GAL Program, it is to...
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