Date: 01/13/2012
Final
Briefing by the Office of the Child's Representative
COMMITTEE ON JOINT JUDICIARY
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01:23 PM -- Briefing by the Office of the Child's Representative
Linda Weinerman, executive director of the Office of the Child's Representative (OCR), came to the table and provided a fact sheet (Attachment B) and the OCR's strategic plan (Attachment C) to the committee. Ms. Weinerman spoke about the mandate and vision of the OCR. She discussed her expectation that the OCR should always strive to improve the quality of attorney services and to create efficiency wherever possible. It is her opinion that this can be accomplished by providing statewide training for all of the players in the dependency and neglect system; establishing minimum practice standards for all attorneys representing the best interests of children; and providing litigation support to and oversight of OCR attorneys.
01:32 PM
Ms. Weinerman continued her briefing and discussed training, best practices, front-loading services to youth in the justice system, and establishing fair compensation rates for OCR attorneys. In deference to the state's economic issues, the OCR will not ask for a rate increase in FY 2012-13. Ms. Weinerman responded to questions from the committee about attorney billing. She discussed a new computerized billing system the OCR is using, which was purchased using a grant from the Mellon Foundation. The new system allows very detailed data analysis, which is very helpful when evaluating the quality and efficiency of the services provided by the OCR.
01:38 PM
In response to committee questions, Ms. Weinerman discussed how children obtain the services of the OCR. Some guardian ad litem appointments are statutorily mandated, while others are made at the discretion of the court. She also indicated that the OCR does not measure whether their recommendations are implemented by the courts. She discussed a recent court decision regarding attorney-client privilege and how it applies to guardians ad litem. She spoke about the unique relationship between a child and a guardian ad litem, who is required to represent the best interests of the child. As such, the child cannot be a client in the sense that he or she directs the course of his or her representation.
01:46 PM
Ms. Weinerman talked about feedback and assessment the OCR receives about guardians ad litem from a number of actors within the judicial system, including judges and court staff. She expressed her hope to get more feedback from children about the guardians ad litem. She spoke more about using her computerized billing system to measure the performance of the OCR contract attorneys. In response to further questions from the committee, Ms. Weinerman explained the process of investigating and resolving complaints about guardians ad litem.
01:55 PM
Representative Gardner announced that the House Judiciary Committee liaisons to the OCR are Representatives Nikkel and Ryden.