What are my duties as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem?
As a Guardian ad Litem volunteer, you will receive training to prepare you to perform five important functions: investigator, reporter, spokesperson, monitor, and protector. For more detailed information on training and statewide training schedules, click here. As a GAL investigator, you will independently assess the allegations that led to the initial involvment of the Department of Social Services and the court. You will visit with and interview the child, depending upon his or her developmental age. The child may be staying with relatives, or placed in a temporary shelter or foster home. Whatever the child’s location, it is important to assess the child’s well-being and determine the child’s particular needs so that you can make appropriate recommendations during the pendency of the action in court. The parents and/or Guardians of the minor child will need to be interviewed, particularly if they are also named as the alleged perpetrator of the abuse or neglect which is the subject o
