April 23, 1998 98-R-0648

FROM: Lawrence K. Furbish, Assistant Director

RE: Guardian Ad Litem in Neglect and Abuse Cases

You asked for an outline of the changes made to the law requiring appointment of a guardian ad litem as well as an attorney to represent children in abuse and neglect cases. A "guardian ad litem" is a person appointed by the court to represent the interest of a child or incompetent person in a legal proceeding.

This provision originated in 1975 as part of PA 75-384, An Act Providing for the Additional Requirements for Protection of Children From Abuse. This act was designed to bring Connecticut's law into conformity with the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (P.L. 93-247), a change required for the state to receive federal children's protective service funds.

In 1975 the law (CGS § 17-38a(f)) already required appointment of counsel to represent and "speak in behalf of the best interest of the child," and this counsel was required to be knowledgeable concerning the needs and protection of children. Among other things, PA 75-384 required that the counsel appointed for the child during the abuse or neglect proceeding also be appointed the child's guardian ad litem in all cases except when the court decided it was appropriate to appoint a separate guardian ad litem. This provision remained unchanged until 1996.

PA 96-246 repealed the portion of CGS § 17a-101 (recodified § 17-38a) concerning guardians ad litem and attorneys and enacted a new provision that was later codified as CGS § 46b-129a. This provision shifted the requirement to speak in behalf of the best interest of the child from the counsel to the guardian ad litem. It also required that whenever the court deems it appropriate to appoint a person other than the attorney to be guardian ad litem, that person need not be an attorney but must be knowledgeable about the needs and protection of children.

The legislative history for sSB 404, which became PA 96-246, contains no references in either committee testimony or floor debate to the guardian ad litem provision.

Section 10 of the child protection bill currently before the General Assembly (sHB 5745, File 425) changes these provisions again. It requires that the attorney appointed to represent a child in a neglect proceeding be knowledgeable about representing children. It requires appointment of a guardian ad litem in all cases, not just when the court deems it appropriate, to speak on behalf of the child's best interests. As under current law, the guardian ad litem need not be an attorney but must be knowledgeable about protecting children and their needs. Under the bill, the court must appoint the attorney to be the guardian ad litem, unless it decides otherwise. Under current law, if the court appoints a guardian ad litem, he must be a different person from the attorney.

LKF:cd