MT State Statute
41-3-112, Guardian Ad Litem
(1) In every judicial proceeding, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for any child alleged to be abused or neglected. The department or any member of its staff who has a direct conflict of interest may not be appointed as the guardian ad litem in a judicial proceeding under this title. When necessary, the guardian ad litem may serve at public expense.
(2) The guardian ad litem must have received appropriate training that is specifically related to serving as a child’s court-appointed representative.
(3) The guardian ad litem is charged with the representation of the child’s best interests and shall perform the following general duties:
(4) Information contained in a report filed by the guardian ad litem or testimony regarding a report filed by the guardian ad litem is not hearsay when it is used to form the basis of the guardian ad litem’s opinion as to the best interests of the child.
(5) Any party may petition the court for the removal and replacement of the guardian ad litem if the guardian ad litem fails to perform the duties of the appointment.
The above text is only one portion of a larger set of codes. To view the entire Montana State Statute, please visit the Montana Code Annotated website.
Program History
The mission of the Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Program is: “Advocating for Abused and Neglected Children in the Judicial System”
In 2002 the Honorable Judge Nels Swandal called for the creation of a local CASA/GAL program in the Sixth Judicial District. Local attorneys and community leaders established a board of directors and created this program within the district. Local attorneys supported us financially enabling us to train our initial ten volunteers.
The Sixth Judicial District serves two counties (Park and Sweet Grass) which cover an area of 4,511 square miles and a population of 19,303. These two counties are both considered rural and remote. Since we serve two counties there are two distinct court and social service systems. There is one presiding judge over both systems the Honorable Judge Nels Swandal.
We received our 501(c)(3) status in 2002, established a board of directors which includes community members from both Park and Sweet Grass Counties. We have since compiled our By-laws, Articles of Incorporation, Board policies and procedures, and volunteer policies and procedures. We have Errors and Omissions insurance on all board members, officers, and volunteers. In 2003 we recruited our first wave of volunteers, scheduled trainings, and assembled appropriate paperwork (applications, references, fingerprints, etc.). In January 2004 we received our first abuse and neglect case. Going forward the board members’ main responsibilities are to manage the Program Director, support future fundraising endeavors, recruit additional volunteers and future board members.
Prior to January 2004 children in abuse and neglect proceedings in the Sixth Judicial District were represented by local attorneys that were assigned by the Court. Under President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” Program the Federal Government has, by June 2004, mandated that all guardians ad litem receive certified training. It is commonly accepted that the CASA/GAL Program is the national standard training program and the State of Montana will be drafting their training program after the National CASA/GAL Program. Beginning in January 2004 our first wave of specially trained CASA/GAL volunteers were assigned cases in the Sixth Judicial District.
When a child abuse or neglect petition is filed with the District Court, the court administrator contacts the Program Director of the Sixth Judicial District CASA/GAL Program. The Program Director then selects a volunteer who is able and willing to accept a new case. Prior to being assigned as a child’s representative the CASA/GAL volunteer receives thirty hours of initial training by nationally certified CASA trainers. The program then mandates twelve hours of continuing education annually. Each volunteer receives individual mentoring from the Program Director. The Judge then files an order appointing that CASA/GAL volunteer to the case. All CASA/GAL volunteers are assigned an attorney to advise them on legal procedures. The quality of the child’s representation improves because a single CASA/GAL volunteer is assigned per case so the child’s best interest receives that volunteer’s exclusive attention. This volunteer is able to work outside of the usual system (Child Protective Services, parent’s attorneys, etc.) and is a voice for the child in all court proceedings. Although our court district covers a large rural and remote area our volunteers are committed to perform on-site interviews, meet with appropriate agencies, attend all court hearings, and attend all treatment-team meetings. Since our program began receiving cases we have been assigned 100% of the abuse and neglect cases in the Sixth Judicial District Court. Historically, Park County serves thirty to thirty-five cases yearly and Sweet Grass County serves one to five cases yearly.
In 2004 the Program began seeking varies funding sources. Funding Sources for the Program included private donations, State of Montana Court Assessment Program, United Way of the Greater Gallatin and State case reimbursement. We were able to acquire free office space and free printing services. The fall of 2004 saw us hiring a Part Time Program Director.
In 2005 the Program received funding sources from private donations, both Park and Sweet Grass Counties, United Way of the Greater Gallatin, National CASA, and State case reimbursement. We continue to serve 100% of the cases in our district with 20 Volunteers.
In 2006 we were able to continue with the same funding sources and continue to meet 100% of the cases with 25 Volunteers.
In 2007 we saw that 48% of our cases were related to Methamphetamine using parents compared to 68% in 2006 and 60% in 2005. We continue to be slightly higher than the state average.
In 2007 we lost our free office space and moved the office to 1313 West Park, Suite 21 and in February 2007 we hired additional personnel in the capacity as a Part Time Program Administrator. 2007 saw the program paying for the bulk of its printing expenses. Our funding sources continue to be Private Donations, Park and Sweet Grass Counties, United Way of the Greater Gallatin, State Case reimbursement, and Jewelers for Children Grant. We now have 31 Volunteers serving 100% of the cases.
In 2008 we saw a 4% increase (52%) of our cases that were related to Methamphetamine using parents. Thankfully this is still way below our high in 2006.
The program continues to have its office at the West Park Street location. We are also fortunate to be able to report that our funding sources have remained constant from 2007. The office continues to operate with 2 part time staff. Our volunteer base remains steady at 31 serving 100% of the cases!
In 2008/09 The Honorable Nels Swandal was awarded the CASA JUDGE of the Year at the 2009, CASA/CAN conference in Helena at an award luncheon April 21st. Presenting the award was Chief Justice Jim Rice. Over 500 people were in attendance for the presentation. We remain in our same office space. We continue to serve 100% of the Abuse and Neglect cases with 31 volunteers. We operate the office with 2 part time staff.
In 2009/10 we saw the expansion of our office space at a new location in the Livingston Plaza, which has allowed us to include a Volunteer Station and a room for us to hold private meetings with clients and monthly board meetings. This past year the Program started attending the Local Farmer’s Market’s. A booth was set up for the purpose of public awareness of what the CASA program does. In addition we baked and sold donuts in order to get people to stop and visit. This year we continued with our Bugle for Kids Event. This past year the program mailed out and compiled a survey in order to evaluate our Public Awareness campaign over the past 4 years. Ann Schilling was awarded the PROGRAM DIRECTOR of the Year at the 2010, CASA/CAN conference in Helena at an award luncheon on April 28th. Presenting the award was Chief Justice Jim Rice and Ellen Bush, the State CASA Executive Director. Over 500 people were in attendance. The program continues to handle 100% of the Abuse and Neglect Cases with a steady base of 31 volunteers. The office continues to operate with 2 part time staff.
In 2010/11 the CASA office has seen some minor changes. The office has gone back to one .50FTE employee and one .25FTE person. Once again we operated a booth and sold fresh homemade donuts at the local counties Farmers’ market in order to promote Program awareness. This year we saw our first ever major fundraising even “Treasure to Cherish”. The event featured delicious appetizers, a band (Steam Powered AirPlane), and a wonderful array of live and silent auction items. The event was a huge success thanks to the hard work of Katie Kilfoil and our board of directors. This year we sent our Program Administrator, Linda Pattengale to attend the National CASA convention in Atlanta. This fall it was our Fourth year for the Bugle for Kids fundraising event. Once again two youth, Logan Jorda and Caden Carter enjoyed the HUNT of their life hosted by West Boulder Ranch and Twelve Springs Ranch both located in Sweet Grass County. We trained 7 new volunteers and continue to advocate for 100% of the Abuse Neglect cases in our District. In March Ann Schilling, Program Director, Don Gimbel, board member and Nancy McCracken, Court Administrator, all attended the National Casa convention “ Building Hope for Youth” in Chicago through a grant that was awarded to us from the Montana Court Assessment Program. In April several volunteers and the staff attended the Child Abuse and Neglect conference in Helena. Gail McCormick, who has been a volunteer with our program for 6 years, received the CASA VOLUNTEER of the year award for 2011. Our Program was also invited to attend the Judges Summit in May in Billings. This conference deals with legal issues facing both judges and attorneys in Abuse and Neglect cases.
National CASA
History of the National CASA program
In 1977, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. So successful was this program that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. In 1990, the US Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA programs with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.
Today, CASA have grown to a network of more than 59,000 volunteers that serve 243,000 abused and neglected children through 900+ local program offices nationwide. Our advocates, also known as volunteer guardians ad litem in some jurisdictions, are appointed by judges and act as officers of the court. Judges rely on the information these trusted advocates present.
For more information on the national program, please visit the official National CASA website.
