Who has oversight over Guardians ad litem in the State of Maine?

We believe the one big, overriding issue for Guardian ad litem reform is the total lack of oversight of their work. This issue has been identified by several other important groups before - but in thinking more deeply about this issue - it is more than just a lack of oversight in the form of supervision. It is that most (if not all) Guardians ad litem are licensed professionals - lawyers, social workers, and such. They are in professions that have legally mandated oversight by their various Maine boards of licensing, yet these professional boards seem to be disabled by current laws governing Guardians ad litem from taking any normal corrective action on complaints from the public.

The code of ethics and standards that apply to Guardians ad litem under their licensed professions - somehow don't apply when they are in the role of Guardian ad litem. As an example, a social worker working as a Guardian ad litem may use his/her Social worker status on his/her professional letterhead for all purposes. The social work letterhead markets the Guardian ad litem as a social worker to the public, yet if he/she violates code of social work ethics under that umbrella - while serving as a Guardian ad litem - he/she has immunity, by the mere fact of being a Guardian ad litem. The professional board is prevented from acting on its oversight function. The best it can do in an egregious situation is dismiss the case "without prejudice".

It seems to us that the very experienced Maine licensing board should have a major role in Guardian ad litem oversight - since they are already overseeing and licensing these professionals in their base professional capacity.  They should not be disabled from so doing by law.

The licensing board and the Judicial Branch might ask themselves - why shouldn't the same ethical and other professional standards apply to both professional situations simultaneously? Any additional regulatory requirements arising out of the Guardian ad litem role should be relatively easily added to the licensing boards mandate. The lines of professional accountability are currently very unclear for the consumer, who may incorrectly assume that a Guardian ad litem who is also a Social Worker or other professional (lawyer, doctor) will be held to the professional standards of their base profession. And they are not. When functioning as a Guardian ad litem, they are free from any accounting to their professional boards.

The current law governing Guardians ad litem allows someone in serious violation of the standards and ethics of their professional licensing board to continue to function as a Guardian ad litem, protected from any corrective action by their board just by the fact of being a Guardian ad litem. The law currently disables the professional standards of the licensing boards. An unprincipled Guardian ad litem is professionally bullet proof.



Please contact MeGALalert@gmail.com for more information.

Employment opportunity helping Maine's children $100 - $200 per hour!!!

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

Forced to buy Lemons at Gunpoint

When there is no oversight, no supervision and no enforceable standard for Guardians ad litem, the public is forced to buy an unknown product by the Judicial Branch, which creates (or rosters) them. More and more Guardians ad litem come out of the Judicial Branch "factory" which has no factory inspection, no test drive and no certificate of quality. To put it baldly, the Judicial Branch has no idea about whether the wheels will stay on the car when it is driven at normal speed and no "factory recall". Furthermore, the market for this product is totally controlled by the Judicial Branch. Courts can demand that couples going through a divorce and child custody battle must buy this product while providing no quality assurance.

Lemons for sale! And, no, you can never get your money back, or trade your "lemon" for a functional car. We are distressed that there is no functional system for making a complaint about Guardians ad litem who are "lemons", and we ourselves are rapidly acquiring an ever lengthening list of "consumer complaints" about "lemons" and the hair raising details behind these complaints. We are considering various ways of informing the public about "lemons".

We are gaining an increasing awareness of the Judicial Branch Guardian ad litem complaint process, as it passes through the "oversight" of  Judge Charles LaVerdiere. We feel no confidence in his process for handling serious Guardian ad litem complaints from the public. He provides only the briefest, flimsiest of instructions for complaining consumers, and there are no criteria for what might be categorical reasons for making complaints. His assessment of complaints seems opaque and secretive for someone charged by the Judicial Branch with assuring quality for the public. We sense that if the Guardian ad litem being complained about says, in effect (and without challenge), "The complaint is a lie," that is the end of the matter. The judge doesn't act like a man who wants to know more- or to look more deeply. The public complaint is taken into a dark room at the Judicial Branch and smothered! And the consumer is sent a "case dismissed" reply with no reasons for dismissal.  End of story! On this inadequate, secretive, "oversight" process, the Judicial Branch and Maine Guardian ad Litem Institute (Guardian ad litem trade organization) proudly boast, "Only two Guardian ad litem reprimands in two years; one verbal, one written!" When you lift up the rug and look under it, it is not confidence inspiring.

This raises important consumer issues for a democratic society. Should consumers be forced into using and paying for "lemons", by the courts? Guardian ad litem fees at $120.00 to $200.00 per hour (in an un-itemized Guardian ad litem bill), can run to totals that range from $12,000.00 to $19,000.00 to $34,000.00 or more. The money is not insignificant for middle class couples.  It is a hefty price especially for a "lemon" with no quality assurance and no consumer protection.  It is a further outrage When the hapless consumer who refuses to pay for a "lemon" gets hauled into court by the Guardian ad litem in attempts to force payment, garnish wages or impose a jail sentence! Are we living in 18th century Europe or 21st century America? It looks like Guardian ad litems and Maine courts want to resurrect the long gone, long abolished, hateful "debtor's prison"!

The Judicial Branch's Guardian ad litem program is beyond broken. It badly needs a total overhaul and the public needs relief and protection from the barbarism of present practices. The financial impact of Guardian ad litems on the public is devastating a form of cruelty that should be unacceptable in a civilized society.


The Guardian ad litem program should be halted until it is repaired and the Judicial Branch can guarantee the public quality assurance.

Please contact us at MeGALalert@gmail.com

When is Burning a Child with a Cigarette Okay?

There is a case in Maine that has run its course through the system. The case is a perversion of Justice and the father has been put through the wringer by the Guardian ad litem.

The father recently filed a complaint with the head Judge – Judge LaVerdiere – in which he complained about the Guardian ad litem and the neglect this woman showed for the case and the child. This father was and still is upset with the medieval process that he and others have to go though with the Guardians ad litem assigned to their case. There is a shopping list of why this Guardian ad litem practiced neglect and bias – throwing any shred of common sense out the window and not looking out for this child's best interest.

1. This Guardian ad litem neglected the child’s safety. Several years ago in July it was brought to the GALs attention that his son was burned – it appeared that the burns were caused by cigarettes. In addition there were several large bruises on his shoulders that his son complained about. The father sought treatment for his son as any good parent would do. He also complained to the Guardian ad litem.

According to the rules for Guardians ad litem if a GAL knows that a child has been abused he/ she must make an immediate report to DHHS. In this case the GAL did not report and dismissed the fathers concern. In addition the father was accused of causing trouble – which could be true if a parents concern for their child is causing trouble.

2. Despite the fact that the father has no history of drug or alcohol use or mental illness he was forced to have mental evaluations done so that he may have limited supervised visits with his child. These visits are limited to once a week for a few hours. In addition he was forced to have an assessment done for anger management because the Guardian ad litem felt the father had issues in controlling his anger. This father did what any parent would do when faced with the threat at losing contact with their child. He complied. The Dr. doing the evaluation pointed out that the fathers perceived anger was justified considering the harassment he was getting from the Guardian ad litem. The Guardian ad litem chose to ignore the findings of this Dr – thus disrespecting the opinion of a professional and making a diagnosis of the problem. This Guardian ad litem (and this would also apply for any Guardian ad litem) has no authority to make a diagnosis – never. This Guardian ad litem under rule 3, 3.2, 12(a) is supposed to work with other professionals involved in the assessment or treatment of the parties involved. She clearly did not.

3. This Guardian ad litem showed bias against the father. In addition to the assessments the father was forced to take – this despite the fact he had no history of violence, mental illness or alcohol and drug use – the mother was never asked to do the same. The mother as part of her daily regimen of coping with life is on a mix of ten plus drugs that includes - Vicodin, Oxycontin, Ativan, Neurotin, Phenergin and Medicinal Marijuana. The child was placed under the mothers care despite the knowledge the mother was often incapacitated by these drugs. Is it any wonder the father may have shown frustration towards the Guardian ad litem's recommendations?

The Judgment of this Guardian ad litem is clouded. Both the rules and standards state that a Guardian ad litem must make well reasoned and defensible recommendation regarding the best interest of the child and be an independent voice, free of bias. In all three points it is questionable whether the child’s safety was taken into consideration. Certainly the 'best interest of the child' was ignored. These points and others were cited in the complaint to Head Judge LaVerdiere. He went through and weighed the rights and wrongs – and in the end decided, upon consultation with the Guardian ad litem, that this Guardian ad litem did nothing wrong. Well at least nothing that would warrant even the light slaps on the wrist that Maine's Judiciary has doled out to their GALs. You be the Judge and let us know if the Guardian ad litem was right or wrong.

email: MeGALalert@gmail.com

For more information on the rules and standards please follow these links:

Rules: http://www.courts.state.me.us/maine_courts/family/gal/rules.html

Standards: http://www.courts.state.me.us/maine_courts/family/gal/standards.html

Late night bar hopping with a four year old

Is 'in the best interest' of the child according to one of Maine's Guardian ad litem's

As a parent if your four year old child came to you and told you she was scared of being in a situation your ex put her in what would you do? If your child was taken to an adult environment, a bar, late at night where there was loud music, alcohol and intoxicated adults involved. What would you do?  Would it make a difference if you were involved in a divorce and custody battle?

Most parents would try to take some kind of protective action for their child. If a Guardian ad litem was involved – you would complain to them; after all, that is what they are put in place for. Clearly a child (no matter what the age) being put into an inappropriate adult situation is not in the child’s best interest. Nor does the child feel emotionally safe. Common sense would dictate that this child (or any child) should be protected and removed from this situation or environment.

There is an actual case in Maine that has gone through the courts where common sense appears to have been thrown out the window. The Guardian ad litem in question is said to be one of the most senior Guardians ad litem in the state and is also a member of the Guardian ad litem Institute (the trade organization that promotes the interests of Guardians ad litem in the state of Maine). This Guardian ad litem has had criticism about her handling of other cases, in which there have been complaints against her. Her Judgment clearly seems questionable and; for that matter, the Judge who is reported to have agreed with this Guardian ad litem also seems off base.

The child in question told her father that she felt scared being in the bars to which she was taken by her mother. She witnessed fights and yelling, and her mom's boyfriend being pushed around. “Bad words” were often being said between people. When the father brought this to the Guardian ad litem's attention (the person who is supposed to be looking out for the best interest of this child) – the Guardian ad litem stated that the father simply did not trust that his four year old daughter was in good hands. The father, concerned for his daughters safety, continued to make his point and express his concern. His concern was not taken seriously by the Guardian ad litem. Instead of investigating whether or not the situation of a child’s late night visit to bars was good for the child, this Guardian ad litem continued to blame the father for trying to cause trouble.

How are we to believe, as this Guardian ad litem and the Judge would seem to be doing, that this little girl's 'best interest' was served by late night visits to bars that she found frightening? What about her emotional  safety? Is this kind of place a good moral environment for children? To say the least of what this child is learning from the experience? We would say that common sense was not used by the child’s mother nor by the Guardian ad litem for that matter. Sadly, this type of poor judgment is frequently seen with quite a number of Guardians ad litem in the State of Maine. Examples like this are the reason why there is now - and has been - a very real need for Guardian ad litem reform in Maine. Too much time has passed and too many families hurt by Guardians ad litem and the courts that 'manage' the Guardians ad litem. This should not go on any longer. Please contact us if you or your child have been hurt by the poor judgment and lack of common sense of a Guardian ad litem.

MeGALalert@gmail.com

Open Letter From Chief Justice Regarding GAL Oversight

July 17, 2012

Open Letter From Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley

Re: GAL Oversight Review

I want to thank the public, interested parties, and stakeholders who attended the May 31, 2012, meeting regarding improving the Guardian Ad Litem complaint process, and I thank those who took the time to send in written comments as well.

The written comments that have been posted on the judicial branch web page are available at:

http://www.courts.state.me.us/maine_courts/supreme/gal_comments.shtml.

As mentioned at the meeting, the Maine Judicial Branch has obtained the assistance of the National Center for State Courts to provide the Branch with information on how other state courts investigate and resolve complaints against GALs. We expect to receive information from NCSC in the near future.

In the next few weeks, the Branch will form a Task Force to review the public comments, as well as the information received from the NCSC, and to provide feedback as we develop proposals for revisions to the GAL complaint process. We intend to create a Task Force that is broadly representative of the stakeholders involved in these matters.

Because the Branch must report back to the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary by October 1, 2012, members of the Task Force must be available to attend meetings in August and September. We anticipate as many as three meetings in Augusta in that short time frame. Several people who filed comments expressed an interest in providing further assistance or information to the Branch or to serve on any committee we might form.

To keep the numbers manageable, we will select one or two members to represent the separate stakeholder groups, including public/consumer representatives. Those interested in serving on the Task Force should notify the court by July 24, 2012, by email to lawcourt.clerk@courts.maine.gov, or to Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, 205 Newbury Street, Room 139, Portland, ME 04101.

We will post the members of the Task Force and meeting dates once the Task Force is formed.
Once, again, I thank all those who have taken the time to share their comments with the Court.

Open Letter From Chief Justice Regarding GAL Oversight (PDF)

The 'Dating Game' - Maine Guardian ad litem style

Custody tensions can be hard enough without the 'help' of a stranger coming in and making recommendations based on a bizarre and abstract idea that has no clear foundation other than that person's opinion.

For the past several years that Guardian ad litem role expansion has been what Maine’s Justice Saufly (and others) call "mission creep" in the role of Guardian ad litem. Going beyond what the courts have mandated and beyond the scope of these Guardian ad litem's professional training. One area of "mission creep" is that a Guardian ad litem has no right to prescribe unusual social behaviors in managing the lives of divorcing parents and their child.

There is one case that has made its way through the court system where a Judge has made history. The Guardian ad litem working this case has essentially recommended that the parents (both of them have remarried) start 'dating' allegedly 'in the child’s best interest' (the Guardian ad litem has rewritten to state that monthly 'meetings' are recommended – whatever it is called by the Guardian ad litem it is not something the Guardian ad litem has any authority nor mandate to recommend). What is interesting is that this Guardian ad litem has no background in psychology and is stretching the Guardian ad litem role way beyond any Maine statutes.. It is a Guardian ad litem as a law unto him/herself. As this Judge has endorsed the recommendation he/ she is in effect giving approval to court ordered dating for divorcees in the State of Maine. An embarrassing first in the United States for Maine and our court system.

According to rules for the Guardian ad litem section 3, 3.2, 12 (a) “Working effectively with other professionals involved in the assessment or treatment of the child” is something that can apparently be ignored by Guardian ad litems if it does not fit their personal opinion of the “child’s best interest” in any situation. This Guardian ad litem is imposing his/ her surreal bias on the situation and in opposition to the opinion of a licensed mental health professional, to say nothing of the wishes of one of the remarried parties. It is a do your own thing plan of action. This Guardian ad litem has no mandate nor training (nor does any Guardian ad litem in the State of Maine or in the US) to recommend this course of "over the top" action. What the goal of this situation is, is hard to understand - other than the claim that it may meet some need of one parent over the other. This and a totalitarian mind set on the Guardian ad litem's need to impose his/ her will. It would be laughable, as a bad joke, were it not so destructive of the lives of real people.

Should this bizarre recommendation actually be implemented – as it looks like it will - by the court; then both the Guardian ad litem and the court should be held responsible for this insane idea and lack of common sense. The Guardian ad litem should be dismissed - permanently. The Judge should be sanctioned at the very least if not removed. There is no room in Maine's Justice system for such bad jokes or decisions.

An example such as this one is a strong cry for effective, long overdue oversight of Maine Guardian ad litems. Those who would say that there is "no scandal" in the Guardian ad litem program must have an extremely tolerant view of scandal.

Judicial and Guardian ad litem abuse

And the impact that it has on our children.

The link we have provided is to an interview given by the Director of the Center for Judicial Excellence. They are an advocacy group that works for Judicial and Guardian ad litem reform based out of California but with a national focus. The interview is amazing in that the Director talks about Judicial and Guardian ad litem abuse and how it impacts the lives of our children. How evidence is ignored by the court and that we are creating a social cost to society - people and more importantly the children that Guardian ad litems are supposed to represent are growing up with a mistrust of the court system. This because quite often Guardian ad litems do not advocate for the 'best interest of the child' or what is safe for our children.

There needs to be change to the system that creates and manages Guardian ad litems in the state of Maine. Oversight can not be had by the Judicial branch nor by trade organizations such as the Guardian ad litem Institute.

Click this link: Center for Judicial Excellence and press the green arrow to start the interview. The interview lasts just under 10 minutes.

If you have had issues with a Guardian ad litem please contact us at:     meGALalert@gmail.com