Do you want a high paying career with the potential of earning between $200,000 and $400,000 a year? Can you sit through 16 hours of lectures over three days? If so then you can become a Guardian ad litem and work for Maine’s Judiciary.
The benefits? A binder with loose instructions on what a Guardian ad litem must do. No supervision. No worry about making mistakes. Best of all knowing that Maine’s Justice system will force collection on any bill that you present!
The above ad is made up and is not all that far from the truth. In the state of Maine if you are a lawyer or social worker you can easily become a Guardian ad litem. To do so requires only 16 hours of lectures. There is no test in the end to see if there is an understanding of the concepts discussed, there is no mentoring program administered by the courts. You walk out with only the lecture and a loose leaf notebook to start your career. Upon becoming a Guardian ad litem you can count on Maine’s Court system backing you up. Your recommendations no matter how over the top they may be will be accepted as fact. In no other court that we are aware of is hearsay accepted as fact. As a Guardian ad litem if you have issues collecting from one or both parties involved this is not a problem because Maine’s courts will force the parties to pay by garnishing wages or putting a lien on your home to name a few of the strong arm tactics employed by the courts. There is no step that is too extreme for Guardian ad litem bill collection – keep in mind that it is all done with the child’s best interest. Finally, the role of a Guardian ad litem can profoundly change the way a broken family interacts, and what you do is protected with immunity by Maine’s Court system. It is impossible to remove a Guardian ad litem in this state. Any complaint no matter how horrific the Guardian ad litem may have been is a wasted complaint. Currently there is no functional due process for families.
Maine’s Court system is currently going through a process of trying to repair issues with the Guardian ad litem program. Although the Judicial Branch should be applauded for its efforts in trying to fix many of the problems it should be pointed out that it has taken years to get to this point. It has taken far too long, and there have been many families hurt by a process that is meant to help, but by design only hurts. Maine’s families have suffered enough.
Please contact us at MeGALalert@gmail.com if you have had issues with a Guardian ad litem.
The content on this site is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice
The benefits? A binder with loose instructions on what a Guardian ad litem must do. No supervision. No worry about making mistakes. Best of all knowing that Maine’s Justice system will force collection on any bill that you present!
The above ad is made up and is not all that far from the truth. In the state of Maine if you are a lawyer or social worker you can easily become a Guardian ad litem. To do so requires only 16 hours of lectures. There is no test in the end to see if there is an understanding of the concepts discussed, there is no mentoring program administered by the courts. You walk out with only the lecture and a loose leaf notebook to start your career. Upon becoming a Guardian ad litem you can count on Maine’s Court system backing you up. Your recommendations no matter how over the top they may be will be accepted as fact. In no other court that we are aware of is hearsay accepted as fact. As a Guardian ad litem if you have issues collecting from one or both parties involved this is not a problem because Maine’s courts will force the parties to pay by garnishing wages or putting a lien on your home to name a few of the strong arm tactics employed by the courts. There is no step that is too extreme for Guardian ad litem bill collection – keep in mind that it is all done with the child’s best interest. Finally, the role of a Guardian ad litem can profoundly change the way a broken family interacts, and what you do is protected with immunity by Maine’s Court system. It is impossible to remove a Guardian ad litem in this state. Any complaint no matter how horrific the Guardian ad litem may have been is a wasted complaint. Currently there is no functional due process for families.
Maine’s Court system is currently going through a process of trying to repair issues with the Guardian ad litem program. Although the Judicial Branch should be applauded for its efforts in trying to fix many of the problems it should be pointed out that it has taken years to get to this point. It has taken far too long, and there have been many families hurt by a process that is meant to help, but by design only hurts. Maine’s families have suffered enough.
Please contact us at MeGALalert@gmail.com if you have had issues with a Guardian ad litem.
The content on this site is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice
The education of Maine GALs requires an overhaul for quality assurance and consumer protection. NH requires a GAL training course of 44 hours (to Maine's 16 hours), it requires a practicum (internship), while Maine has none, and it mandates some form of corrective action be taken by those responsible for oversight, if the State's Rules and Regs for GALs are violated by a GAL.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteHey,let's run this in Sunday's classified section of the Press Herald... Wouldn't that be a hoot???
DeleteWe understand that some readers of this posting have taken its parody seriously and are enquiring about where to apply.
ReplyDeleteWe need to do a re-write: "Join the most hated profession in Maine, along with dentists who refuse novocaine, IRS sleuths, telephone marketers, people who repossess cars, etc."
Another true/funny story: we get contacts from all over the world from this blog: India, Ireland, England France, and ... Russia. Several Russian men have wanted to get connected with "Maine GALs (or gals). We suspect it wasn't about child custody issues ...
16 hours of class and a notebook, no test, no internship, no supervision, no oversight, legal immunity from liability. it is a "died and gone to heaven" job!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, it isn't heaven for the clients, who suffer from no quality assurance, no consumer protection of any kind.
For relief from hell in Maine look to New Hampshire for their more responsible models.