Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Would you hand over $2500 to a stranger?

What do you know about your Guardian ad litem?


A Guardian a litem has been appointed to be a part of your custody case. Here is a stranger that is invading your life in the name of your child's best interest. This person is going to be making life altering decisions and recommendations to the court that will impact your life and that of your child for years to come.

What can you find out in Maine about this person's background and professional standing as a GAL?

Nothing.

You have to accept on faith that this person is going to perform their job  as a GAL competently. You are going into this deal blind, because in Maine there is not currently any form of oversight, accountability or consumer protection when using a GAL's service.

One simple and effective measure of GAL quality and accountability would be for the Judicial branch to post online, any complaint or action against a GAL. This might be for something as mundane as not fulfilling the continuing education hours, to more serious complaints on the family and superior court levels.

New Hampshire is one state that does this. New Hampshire also lists on the court's rosters whether or not a GAL is under suspension. Although this approach is not perfect it does allow the consumer to know whether or not there have been past actions against  a GAL and for what reason. It allows the consumer to decide whether or not being late on continuing education is a deal breaker for example. Or if there are other reasons or actions that might make you question whether or not this GAL will be a good fit. It gives the consumer the ability to make choices and to do so from an informed perspective.

There is no consumer protection for the user of GAL services in Maine. There is plenty of legal liability protection for the GALs themselves who operate in a very protected legal environment. The Judicial branch needs to be using some standard data management tool for holding GALs accountable by giving consumers online warning signals about a GALs past performance. Making their past record transparent and public is one way of doing this.

Otherwise - with no public information - the Judicial branch risks marketing a defective or substandard product to the public - Again.

12 comments:

  1. The concepts of GAL background transparency and accountability are very important. As consumers we are forced into blind choices of a GAL, if we don't have any background data, and there is a lot riding on our selection of a GAL. Once you agree to a particular GAL, it is "marriage for life"! Once you sign a financial contract, there is no out. You are stuck permanently and the court will back the GAL and force payment.

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    1. Once you have accepted a GAL you are for all purposes wedded to that person until the divorce/ custody is finalized. Currently there are no resources available to those having to use a GAL to determine whether or not a GAL would be suitable to your case. MeGALalert is working on a data base where we would be able to provide the end user of GAL services with information collected - good or bad - on a particular GAL or GALs rostered in a particular court.

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  2. Doesn't MEGALI (Maine Guardian ad litem Institute) list GALs on the web site? Are they offering these names with some "quality assurance"? Have they screened GALs on their list?

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    1. There is at this time no tools that can be accessed by the consumer of GAL services. Maine Guardian ad Litem Institute is a trade organization for the GAL industry in Maine. Although they do provide information about GALs that are members in the state they have no program of quality assurance. Even if they did I would question how neutral they could be as they represent the best interest of the GAL.

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  3. This is a hold up. My GAL did two bills in over a year. There was a list of charges but none of these were identified, When I begged to know what they were, she refused, saying this was the way she had done it for the last 13 years! How would I ever know whether the charges were legitimate?

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    1. This is unfortunately more common than one would expect. The sad fact is that currently there is little you can do. The cost of finding out could exceed the bill itself. That being said you have every right to know what the make up of that bill is. You can ask for emails and phone records for example. What you can not ask for are the notes the GAL has taken for your case. If the GAL refuses to explain her bill chances are there is abuse going on.

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    2. To anonymous-was your GAL Susan Wiggen?I had the same experience with her.

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    3. This is a delayed response - while the person you asked does not appear to have responded. Based on the people who we have talked with the Guardian ad litem you mention is a person that has shown up several times. 50 Shades of Crazy we would ask that you take our survey on GAL performance which can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1967HIXmteLeRaevDXUWzA70hJ3vROYSvXuXuJJMmqyM/viewform?pli=1

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  4. How do I know whether my GAL is billing me for her trips to Hannaford for groceries? How do I know the bill isn't padded in other ways? Does anyone check on the integrity of GALs before they are licensed?

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  5. Generally speaking - GALs that are lawyers you tend to get more information from them with regards to your bill. GALs who are social workers you can expect bills that are not transparent and are hard to understand. There are no guidelines for GALs with regards to billing practices.

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  6. Do guidelines matter with GALs? It seems like they have a license to do their own thing. Lawyers and others who can't make it in their basic profession can become a GAL and never deal with malpractice!

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  7. In theory the guidelines that GALs have do matter. In practice GALs do their own thing and there is no accountability for how they behave. So yes they have a license to do their own thing.

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