PROBATE
AND FAMILY COURT ANNOUNCES THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE NEW STANDARDS FOR CATEGORY F GUARDIANS AD LITEM/INVESTIGATORS AND STANDING
ORDER 1-05
The
Probate and Family Court Administrative Office has announced
that the new standards for Category
F, Guardians ad Litem/Investigators 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 Standards become effective with
the implementation of Standing
Order 1-05, Standards
for Guardians ad Litem/Investigators.
The
Probate and Family Court Administrative Office in conjunction
with Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc., held
five mandatory trainings for all guardians ad litem certified
under Category F, pursuant to Supreme Judicial Court Rule
1:07. All guardians ad litem certified under CategoryF were required to attend one of the training sessions in
order to receive further appointments under Category F.
Some
of the topics that were covered at the trainings 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.
,