PROBATE AND FAMILY
COURT ANNOUNCES MANDATORY TRAINING ON THE
NEW STANDARDS FOR CATEGORY F GUARDIANS AD LITEM/INVESTIGATORS
The
Probate and Family Court Administrative Office in conjunction
with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc.,
will be presenting a series of mandatory three (3) hour
training programs on the new standards for Category F
guardians ad litem/investigators. The new standards
will be effective on January 24, 2005. These
standards will be applicable to all cases in which a
guardian ad litem/investigator is appointed by a judge
of the Probate and Family Court.
The
first training will be held in Boston on December
1, 2004 at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal
Education training facility, 10 Winter Place, from 9:00
A.M. until 12 noon. The second training will be held
on December 8, 2004 at the Holiday Inn
Peabody from 9:00 A.M. until 12 noon. The third training
will be held on December 15, 2004 at
the Holiday Inn Taunton from 9:00 A.M. until 12 noon.
The fourth training will be held on January 12,
2005 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Worcester
from 9:00 A.M. until 12 noon. The last training will
be held on January 19, 2005 at the Springfield
Marriott from 9:00 A.M. until 12 noon.
All
guardians ad litem certified under Category F,
pursuant to Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:07, must attend one of
the training sessions in order to receive further appointments
under Category F. The tuition for the
training will be $75.00 which includes written materials.
This training will satisfy three hours of the six-hour
continuing professional education requirement for 2004
and 2005.
Some
of the topics that will be covered include the importance
of defining the roles of Category F guardians ad litem/investigators,
the essential elements of the investigation including who
to interview, what information should be included in the
report, the importance of balancing children's rights to
confidentiality vs. requesting waiver of the psychotherapy
privilege and what to do when issues of mental illness,
substance abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence arise
during the course of the investigation.
Due
to the capacity of the rooms where the trainings will be
held, there may be a need to limit the number of persons
who sign up for each training. This process will be done
on a "first come, first served" basis. To sign up for a
training, persons may contact MCLE at (800) 966-6253, Monday-Friday,
8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. or online at www.mcle.org
