TITLE 16

JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS

CHAPTER 16

CHILD PROTECTIVE ACT

16-1632.  Guardian ad litem coordinator — Duties — Annual report. (1) Under rules, policies and procedures adopted by the Idaho supreme court which may include, but are not limited to, provisions establishing fiscal controls and requiring compliance with all or part of the standards adopted by the national court appointed special advocate association, the persons or entities receiving moneys from the grant administrator to coordinate a guardian ad litem program in a judicial district may be required by the terms of the grant to perform any or all of the following duties:

(a)  To establish, maintain and coordinate a districtwide guardian ad litem program consistent with the provisions of this chapter;

(b)  To furnish the necessary administrative and staffing services as may from time to time be required;

(c)  To act as a coordinator for the purpose of providing guardians ad litem for children brought within the purview of this chapter;

(d)  To seek to have each child brought within the purview of this chapter available to him a guardian ad litem throughout each stage of any child protective proceeding;

(e)  To establish a program for attorneys to represent guardians ad litem, whether or not appointed by the court in conjunction with the local, districtwide, and state bar associations;

(f)  To the extent possible to establish a districtwide program to recruit volunteer guardians ad litem sufficient to provide services in each county of the judicial district;

(g)  In conjunction with the department, prosecuting attorneys and city and county law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, social workers, school counselors and the medical community, the coordinators may assist in the development and implementation of a statewide uniform protocol for the investigation of allegations of abuse, neglect or abandonment pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(h)  To develop uniform criteria to screen, select, train and remove guardians ad litem;

(i)  To establish a priority list of those proceedings under this chapter in which a guardian ad litem shall be appointed in districts where there are insufficient numbers of guardians ad litem.

(2)  Each guardian ad litem coordinator shall submit an annual report for the preceding fiscal year to the grant administrator for delivery to the legislature no later than ten (10) days following the start of each regular session. Such report shall contain the number and type of proceedings filed in the district under this chapter, the number of children subject to proceedings in the district under this chapter and the number of appointed guardians ad litem, the nature of services the guardians ad litem provided, the number of guardians ad litem trained in each district, the number of hours of service provided by guardians ad litem and attorneys and a complete financial statement for the past year and financial support requirements for the next fiscal year.

(3)  The coordinators and staff members of any guardian ad litem program receiving moneys from the grant administrator, and any persons volunteering to serve as guardians ad litem in such programs, shall submit to a fingerprint-based criminal history check through any law enforcement office in the state providing such service. The criminal history check shall include a statewide criminal identification bureau check, federal bureau of investigation criminal history check, and statewide sex offender registry check. A record of all background checks shall be maintained in the office of the supreme court of the state of Idaho with a copy going to the applicant.

History:

[(16-1632) 16-1630, added 1989, ch. 281, sec. 4, p. 687; am. and redesig. 2005, ch. 391, sec. 34, p. 1290; am. 2007, ch. 26, sec. 2, p. 52.]