Florida Guardian ad Litem Program

Protecting Florida’s Children

Florida. The word conjures up mental images of palm trees, beaches, vacations, Disney World, and child abuse. The last of those images is incongruent with the other images, but across the nation Florida has taken the spotlight as a place where the child welfare system has failed and failed terribly. In the past five years, 350 children in Florida have died from child abuse.

It wasn’t always like that. When I left Florida in 1985, the state had an outstanding reputation for its child welfare efforts. One reason for this reputation was the statewide Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program.

In 1980, the State Court System of Florida began implementing a unique court volunteer program designed to assist abused and neglected children. It is called the State of Florida Guardian ad Litem Program. The role of the Guardian ad Litem Program is to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in the judicial system.

Today the appointment of a Guardian ad Litem is mandated in all juvenile dependency and divorce custody cases involving an allegation of child abuse or neglect and in all criminal cases if the child is a victim or witness to a crime. A Guardian may also be appointed at the discretion of the judge in child delinquency cases and in any divorce case where the custody of their children is in dispute by the separating parents.

A Guardian ad Litem may only be appointed to represent a child in official court proceedings and not in other special hearings. Florida has twenty (20) judicial circuits, and Guardian ad Litem Programs are organized in each circuit.

I accepted my first appointment as a Guardian ad Litem in 1984. I left Florida in 1985. While I was up north, I volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Baltimore City. Upon my return to Florida in 1992, I once again volunteered for the Guardian ad Litem Program.

I’ve accepted mostly dependency cases, meaning child neglect, abuse, and abandonment cases. I have worked one delinquency case and assisted the appointed Guardian of record on one family law case. I was appointed to one case where the child had been subpoenaed to testify as a witness in a criminal case. I have worked some 22 cases and been appointed to represent the best interests of some 36 children.


History of the Program

A comprehensive Federal statute was enacted by Congress in 1974, the Federal Child Abuse and Treatment Act, which provides for financial assistance to states for programs in the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect. This act contains a requirement that states seeking assistance under its provisions provide for the mandatory appointment of a Guardian ad Litem to represent the best interests of an abused or neglected child in every case which results in a judicial proceeding.

The State of Florida responded to this mandate by establishing the Guardian ad Litem Program within the Office of the State Courts Administrator. In 1975 the Florida Legislature gave the courts discretionary authority to appoint Guardians ad Litem in child abuse proceedings. In 1978 it amended the statute to require such appointments child abuse proceedings. In 1979 it mandated such appointments in neglect proceedings.

The state legislature selected and funded the non-attorney volunteer option in 1980.

In 1987 the Florida legislature appropriated funds for the initiation of a family law project, which provides for GAL representation of children in family law proceedings. The following year, the Legislature reaffirmed its commitment to children’s representation in criminal court when the child is a victim of or witness to a crime. And, in 1989, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers set up the “Friends of Guardian Ad litem Program” to provide pro bono legal representation to the GAL program.


The Program Office

The Florida GAL Program operates under the auspices of the judicial branch; therefore, direct supervision of the circuit court GAL programs has been assigned to the chief judge of each circuit and, in turn, through the trial court administrator or their designee. Each circuit court GAL program has a program director who is responsible for recruiting and screening volunteers, training volunteers, assigning and coordinating casework, supervising and participating in casework, maintaining case management records, and controlling expenditures.


What is a Guardian ad Litem?

A Guardian is a specially trained volunteer appointed as an officer of the court to ensure that the best interests of the child are protected while the child is a subject of judicial proceedings. The court before which a case is heard makes the appointment. The circuit courts in Florida are authorized by statute to hear child abuse proceedings. The Guardian’s appointment and authority derive from that order of appointment. Without the court’s permission, the Guardian ad Litem has no status and no function. The order of appointment includes a provision making the Guardian a party to the cause of action.

Guardians are appointed in child abuse, neglect, and abandonment cases, in disputed divorce actions, or where the child has witnessed a crime and may be called upon to testify about that crime.

Before Guardians Ad Litem were available to represent children, state officials were often faced with conflicts of interests which prohibited them from acting in the best interests of the child. For example, by law the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is required to consider the needs of the family and not only the needs of the child. The Guardian is distinct from DCF and has the ability to explore solely what is in an individual child’s best interests.

Similarly, an attorney retained by a parent in a divorce proceeding cannot simultaneously represent the child’s interest. In such instances, the child’s best interest may be in direct conflict with the parent’s wishes. A Guardian ad Litem has no such conflict of interest and is legally obligated to do everything possible to ensure the judgment rendered in the case is in the child’s best interest.

Appointment as a Guardian ad Litem does not require admission to the bar as a practicing attorney. Any adult who has common sense and good judgment can be a Guardian ad Litem. A GAL does not have to be a lawyer, counselor, therapist, or parent since the GAL does not perform these roles for the child.

A volunteer Guardian ad Litem should be a person who has perhaps dealt with crisis in his or her own life and is capable of helping a child in crisis. The GAL should be a person who cares and is able to give time to help a child. A Guardian ad Litem volunteer may have to “think outside the lines.” Volunteers are matched with children depending on how much time they are able to give, the seriousness of the case, and the backgrounds of the volunteer and the child.

A GAL volunteer can expect to devote approximately 2½ to 10 hours a week working on a particular case. This workload varies depending upon the case and the availability of the volunteer. The hours are determined for the most part by the Guardian, so flexibility is practically unlimited.

There is a mandatory training session that has to be successfully completed. Background checks are run through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Child Abuse Registry. There are annual in-service training sessions.

People interested in volunteering may contact the Guardian ad Litem office at their local courthouse or email me and I will provide contact information for any particular circuit.


What Does a Guardian ad Litem do?

The goal of the Guardian ad Litem is to represent the child’s best interest by making an independent evaluation of what is truly in the child’s best interest, both for the immediate future and for the long term. Accomplishing this goal requires that the Guardian assume five distinct but clearly interrelated roles.

  • Investigator
  • Monitor
  • Spokesperson
  • Reporter
  • Protector
Investigator
I personally think that the GAL’s “investigative” function is more properly described as independent fact finder. The GAL can be expected to gather information about the child’s current situation (as opposed to the allegations in the petition) by interviewing the child, parents, relatives, friends, school personnel, and professionals with whom the child has had contact. The Guardian can gather reports and written records pertaining to the child and his family. It is useful for the GAL to observe the child’s interactions with the significant others in his life and report those observations to the court. Finally the GAL can provide invaluable information about the past responses of both the child welfare system and the court system with regards to the needs of the child.

Monitor
The Guardian monitors the activities of the agencies and people responsible for providing services to the child and his family. The volunteer assures that court orders to protect and benefit the child are carried out and that the families and the child receive the assistance and intervention that have been mandated. Throughout the duration of the case, the GAL monitors the appropriateness of the child’s placement and the parents’ compliance with the court-approved case plan. In short, the GAL has an opportunity to be a monitor of both the parents’ and the system’s responses to the child’s needs and ensure that all “key players” are acting in that child’s best interest.

The GAL’s effectiveness as a monitor depends on his ability to bring his observations before the court and persuade the court that changes should be made or orders should be enforced. A monitor without the ability to effectuate modifications or enforcement of existing responsibilities and obligations is ineffective. Sometimes, the lay volunteer may require legal assistance in order to function effectively. The description of the Guardian ad Litem as the “eyes and ears of the court” is a reflection of the GAL’s monitoring role.

Spokesperson
The Guardian speaks on behalf of the best interests of the child before the court and before the agencies that are charged with responsibility for meeting the needs of the child and his family. This role is at the heart of court advocacy. Under current Florida law, there are several instances where the GAL’s participation in court and agency proceedings is expressly authorized.

Based on a review of the child’s current situation, the Guardian ad Litem forms an opinion about what actions and alternatives are available to the court and to child welfare agencies that will serve and protect the child’s best interests — including ways to protect the child’s physical safety and emotional well-being and opportunities for permanent placement in a nurturing home that will protect the child from further harm. The GAL then informs the court of the child’s needs and makes recommendations that will serve that child’s best interests.

Reporter
The Guardian ad Litem reports to the court information gathered from observing and talking with the child; interviewing parents or guardians, relatives, and others who have contact with the child; and consulting with professionals about the child. The GAL also offers recommendations about how the judicial and child welfare systems can assure that the child’s best interests will be met. The Guardian Ad Litem’s reports become a permanent part of the court record.

Protector
The Guardian ad Litem sees to it that the child’s physical, psychological, developmental, and legal needs are met so that the child can be happy and live a normal childhood. The Guardian keeps the child from getting caught up in the system, from becoming “lost in the shuffle.” The Guardian makes sure the case stays on track, pushing, prodding, reminding, speaking out until the system effectively meets the child’s best interest.

The Guardian has several legal tools which may be utilized to assure the protection of the child, including access to a Program attorney who can provide legal advice and initiate legal action on behalf of the child.

The Guardian ad Litem assists in identifying service resources and programs that may address the child’s needs. Frequently, this function involves the coordination of services, which may or may not be court ordered and the solicitation of support from community organizations. The GAL can convene multidisciplinary staffings that are attended by parents, doctors, mental health counselors, school teachers, specialists, and social service providers to ensure that all the agencies that are providing serves to the child are in fact providing the necessary services in a timely manner.

The GAL volunteer takes a comprehensive view to make certain that there is no gap or overlap in service provision. If the GAL identifies services that the child needs which cannot be secured without a court order, the GAL will make a recommendation for those services to the court.


Does the Program Work?

Volunteer Guardians ad Litem have been found to be more aware of children’s issues, including child abuse and neglect problems in their communities. They have been observed utilizing prior professional and life experiences in helping children and providing an intelligent, thorough, common-sense approach to resolution of family problems.

Independent evaluations have shown that volunteer Guardians provide necessary services to the court and the child, especially in the areas of monitoring the child’s progress and locating more effective resources for the child and family, or more beneficial temporary placements for the child in the community. This latter benefit has saved the State of Florida money in excess of the cost of the program. Judges remark that reports prepared by volunteer guardians ad litem are among the best they have reviewed in dependency proceedings and that such reports result in more appropriate decision-making on behalf of children.

A government funded study of abused and neglected children in the juvenile justice system concluded that the most effective way to represent their best interests in court is through a GAL volunteer.

Families are more likely to receive appropriate services when the Guardian ad Litem for the child is a volunteer. Children under the GAL models have more specific court orders for services and more appropriate services ordered for their families by the social services agency. The GAL model tends to result in more siblings being placed together and is more likely to maintain a goal of reunification.

GAL volunteers provide the most extensive and effective case monitoring and follow-up. The Guardians contact the child on a more regular basis, often weekly or monthly. They tried to implement changes when necessary without waiting for the scheduled reviews. Guardians ad Litem under both paid and volunteer models clearly have the most contact with children.


Final Comment

Once during a training program for new Guardians, I was asked what I viewed as being the most important things for a Guardian to remember as a case progressed. I listed four.

  • First, foremost, and above all else: protect your child. Make sure that the child is in a suitable placement; make sure that the child is receiving all those services appropriate to the circumstances. Doing this means keeping in touch. Make sure that everyone connected with your child knows who you are and recognizes your name as soon as hearing it. Know what your child’s everyday routine and life is like, both at home and at school or at preschool or at church or at play. Keep in touch with everybody. Make that effort, and it will be an effort at times. Just do it. If you have a problem with something that is going on in your child’s life, make certain you can state with specificity what is causing that problem. Don't generalize. Don't just say you aren’t comfortable with something; state what it is that is making you uncomfortable.
  • Maintain your objectivity. You are an independent fact-finder and officer of the court. You don't represent the caseworker, the caseworker’s supervisor, the child’s mother, the father, or anyone else. Preserve your independence by remaining scrupulously objective and avoiding even the appearance of favoring one party over the other.
  • You are the eyes and ears of the court. It is your job to make certain that the court is apprised of all the facts it needs to render a suitable decision on any issue presented to it affecting the welfare of the child. Even if the facts do not support your recommendation, make certain they get before the court. That's your job. If the court is ever surprised by something said during a hearing, you have not done your job.
  • It is emphatically not your job to be the child’s best friend, confidant, or counselor. These children will have all sorts of people moving and out of their lives during the lifetime of the legal action. You need to have a good rapport with your child, but avoid emotional over-attachment. There are plenty of excellent programs out there that will allow you to become part of a child’s emotional life: Big Sisters-Big brothers, mentoring programs, child care centers. If that’s what you are looking for, great. Go do it. Don’t do it as a Guardian. That’s not your job.
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