A legislator says the system that protects the interests of kids mistreats other parties.
Portland Press HearldBefore David Dutremble got divorced in 2005 and fought for shared custody of his children, he had never heard of a guardian ad litem.
Now, in his first term as a state senator, Dutremble is leading an effort to reform what he considers a broken system, in which judges assign specially registered lawyers or mental health workers to step into the most contentious cases, like divorces, to represent the children.
Dutremble, a Democrat from Biddeford, has filed a bill to make sweeping changes to Maine's guardian ad litem program, including a better definition of the role, a new management structure, a database to track the work, and increased requirements to qualify as a guardian ad litem.
The Legislature's Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on an amended version of his proposal at 2 p.m. Thursday.
"It's a hot issue. I'm a freshman senator and everyone knows my name," Dutremble said. "I'm getting a lot of pushback from lawyers and the judiciary. There's people who live off the guardian system. It's all about the money."
On opposing sides of the bill are the guardians themselves, and the parents who feel they were wronged by guardians' actions in their cases.
Dutremble said the guardian ad litem assigned to his case immediately sided with his ex-wife and decided that Dutremble's job as a Biddeford firefighter was not beneficial to raising children.
Full story: PPH
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