Guardian Ad Litem Part 2

Guardian Ad Litem Part 2

On Monday I told you who they are and they are apart of the family court system.
Today I want to give you insight on why you should NOT trust them.

As I already told you their recommendation carries more weight than anyone else in the courtroom and yet they are not being paid and carry no degrees.

So why should you not trust them?
Case #1 https://parentingabusedkids.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/exposing-gal-failures/
In this article they are accusing the G.A.L. of being bias. They also claim that they were using their power to further their personal agenda. Other claims is they refused to look at all the evidence before making a recommendation. Claiming the office is corrupt.

Case #2 http://www.king5.com/article/news/local/investigations/judge-pervasive-and-egregious-misconduct-by-child-advocacy-program/281-239304714
This is a report about a court that questioned the agency and claimed it was pervasive and egregious. This is also a video report so you can watch it or read it.

These are just 2 of the hundreds of cases where the motives behind a G.A.L. has been placed in question.
The issues are:

1. Not having an agency like this to speak up for the child.
2. What really motivates the G.A.L.

Now I know many that do it because they love the children and this is the ONLY reason one should ever consider doing this. You spend your time, money, and many many hours researching the family history, talking to everyone involved all to go back and tell the judge what you think should happen with the child. It is a huge toll to place on anyone and to do it all and never get paid. For the ones that do this for the love of the children they should be honored and applauded.

However there are MANY that do this for the wrong reasons. And you will never know until you go into the court room and what they recommend is not what you were told.
You see while they are talking to you, you do not see them as a threat so you open up to them. You tell them way too much information and you think you are getting them on your side.
When in reality they will lie to you and tell you that they are going to tell the judge one thing when they do the opposite. This is all al ploy to get you to tell them everything.

You see a G.A.L. sometimes uses their position to add it to their resume. They can be tempted with bribes and threats. After all they are people, and many accept them as shown in the first case this was not uncommon.
And just because you have net heard about it where you live that does not means it is not going on. It only means they have not been caught.

It is one thing when you are dealing with a curropt agency and another when you are dealing with a single person that is using their power to further their personal agenda. These are very hard to know the difference and their opinion matters the most.

I personally have had experience with G.A.L.

1. When I was a foster child I had an attorney which after a few years he decided that he wanted to become a judge but he still wanted me in his life. He was my only consistent throughout my whole teenage life in foster care. So he became my G.A.L. I never had one before him. And I went to live with him and his wife. I was only there for a little over a month but during that time I spent my time helping him with his campain to become a judge. He won and recently retired.
2. I myself was a G.A.L. for over a year before I became a foster parent. I had to give it up along with my home day care in order to be a foster parent. But I helped with 3 different families.

So in conclusion I can say that there are people within the G.A.L. program that do good. But you must be very careful as many are there to only benefit themselves and at the cost of your children. You can never know what their experiences are or their true motives. there have been cases that the G.A.L. has been related to the foster parents and the foster parents wanted to adopt the children. There have been cases where the G.A.L. has used their position to get a business deal with the other party in the case.
The idea of having a third party in the room to speak out for the child is a great idea. However the program needs to be redone and required the G.A.L. to have some kind of background in child psychology. They require this type of training for people to work in a child day care so they do understand why it is important. So why is it a young adult with no history dealing with children can be a voice for another child in a court of law. And this court of law decides the fate of the child?

As I fully support the #familyprotection movement 25% of ALL the SBD generated for this post will be transferred to #familyprotection.

As always Thank you for taking the time to read this post. It means the world to me to finally have a place where I can speak openly and without fear or repercussion.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!