By Leslie Dunn, Deputy Director • Indiana Office of Court Services, Children & Families Division
After a unanimous vote in favor of the Guardian ad Litem Guidelines by the Judicial Conference Board of Directors on September 18, the Supreme Court adopted the GAL Guidelines for Civil Family Law Cases effective January 1, 2025. The guidelines are designed to bring consistency and accountability in civil family law cases where a GAL is utilized.
Background
The Supreme Court established the Family Law Taskforce in September 2019 to analyze research on court reform, identify innovative strategies to improve court processes, and provide a written report with findings and recommendations. The taskforce issued its report and recommendations in March 2021. In the report, the taskforce recommended the adoption of Guardian ad Litem Guidelines for civil family law cases in Indiana.
The taskforce reviewed GAL rules and standards across the country. Indiana is one of a small handful of states that does not have any qualifications and training requirements or any established roles and responsibilities for GALs. The lack of guidance has caused vast differences in practice across Indiana and has caused confusion for the public.
There is a need to improve GAL practice for more consistency across the state. There is also a need to help litigants better understand the role of the GAL and to ensure GALs receive adequate training to investigate and summarize the best interests of children in family law cases.
Qualifications
Indiana statutes do not have any qualifications for persons serving as a GAL in terms of education required or criminal background checks. The vast majority of states have minimum qualifications and uniform training required to become a GAL. The new guidelines include a description of persons qualified to serve as a GAL and require that criminal background checks and child and abuse/neglect checks be conducted on all GALs in order to protect the safety of children.
Training
The guidelines will require twelve hours of initial training on required topics and six hours of continuing training annually on topics relating to family law, children, and serving in this critical role. GALs who have already received training, who have served as a GAL for three years, or who have served as a GAL on at least ten cases, can receive a waiver of the initial training requirements. For those GALs who need training, free training (with CLE credits) will be available both virtually and in-person. Free ongoing training opportunities through the State Office of GAL/CASA will also be available both in-person and virtually. Training opportunities will be listed on the GAL website.
Benefits for Trial Courts
- Better qualified, trained GALs provide better reports to the court so better decisions are made to protect the best interests of children.
- Judges will have the benefit of knowing that the GAL saw the children in person and directly communicated with them, ensuring their voices are heard in the process.
- There is now a funding source for GALs: counties can adopt or amend an ADR Fund Plan, and the statute allows those funds to be used to pay for GALs for low-income families.
- There will be a GAL Registry that trial courts can use to find GALs who are willing to serve on family law cases in their counties, how long they have served as a GAL, and other useful information.
- The GAL Oversight Committee will ensure that GALs have had a criminal history and CPS check so that judges are confident that the GALs they appoint are safe to be around children.
- Judges will have the benefit of better recommendations and reports from GALs who are trained on child and adolescent development, trauma-informed care, poverty, interviewing skills, court proceedings, and family law.
- Litigants often do not understand the role of a GAL, how to work with a GAL, or what to do if they don’t agree with a GAL. The guidelines create a level playing field by ensuring judges, lawyers, and litigants understand the expectations, roles and responsibilities of a GAL.
- The guidelines create more uniformity in practice across the state which helps courts and attorneys know what to expect when using an unknown GAL, which also helps to promote the use of GALs across county lines.
- Currently, no guidance or accountability exists for GALs in family law cases. GAL Guidelines provide needed accountability for people serving as a GAL for children, ensuring that children are seen by GALs and rulings are based on quality, fact-based recommendations.
- GALs often function on their own without guidance from others or best practices on how to deal with difficult families. Statewide GAL training and the registry will create a community of support and information-sharing that has never existed in Indiana.
Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Current GAL practice across Indiana lacks uniformity, and there is significant uncertainty amongst litigants, judicial officers, and attorneys about the role and responsibilities of a GAL. Clear and uniform guidelines and expectations, like those provided in other states provide more certainty for litigants and courts.
The new Guidelines clearly outline the duties of a GAL, including mandatory in-person contact with children, a thorough and independent investigation, a definition of what best-interest advocacy encompasses, and guidance on sharing a child’s expressed wishes to the court. These proposed guidelines also contain more detailed information about what should be contained in a GAL report and clarify that the GAL role is to make recommendations to the court and, if necessary, monitor the case for a specified period of time. Finally, there will be a Parents’ Guide to understanding the role of the GAL that outlines what to expect when working with a GAL and what to do if you disagree with the GAL.
Feedback
The Family Law Taskforce shared the GAL Guidelines with various local and state bar associations and judicial committees and obtained feedback. The taskforce posted the GAL Guidelines for public comment for 30 days in June 2023. The GAL Guidelines subcommittee of the taskforce spent a considerable amount of time reviewing and analyzing the public comments and made significant revisions to the guidelines as a result.
Funding
The taskforce worked with the legislature to amend the ADR Fund Plan statute so that counties with an ADR Fund can now use those funds to pay for the cost of GALs for low-income families. Counties with existing plans need to amend their plans to include GAL services; counties that do not have an ADR Fund Plan can apply for one through the Indiana Office of Court Services.
GAL Registry
A list of GALs who meet the qualifications and complete the training will be maintained by IOCS and the State Office of GAL/CASA. The GAL Registry will be a statewide, searchable directory of GALs and will include information useful to judges, such as the list of counties in which the GALs serve and/or will travel to, how long they have served as a GAL, and other useful information. The registry will be available to courts so that they have access to more GALs from nearby counties.
The GAL Family Law Oversight Committee
The Supreme Court established the GAL Family Law Oversight Committee in June of 2023. The oversight committee will study the effectiveness of the GAL Guidelines, propose ongoing amendments, and ensure the guidelines are being applied consistently and effectively across the state. They will also review any requests for waivers of the qualifications or training requirements and will accept complaints about GALs in limited circumstances.
Next Steps
Applications to serve as a qualified GAL are now available. All existing GALs and any interested in serving as a GAL must apply. Those who apply and are approved will be listed in the GAL Registry. The cost of criminal background checks for existing GALs will be covered until funding is depleted. Applicants will be directed to the site for criminal background checks once they complete the application.
To apply, visit courts.in.gov/iocs/gal