By: Lila Bradley, Staff Attorney, AVLF
For the past five years, I have had the privilege of directing AVLF's volunteers in the legal representation of children in foster care, with cases in Fulton Juvenile Court. Since June, I have taken on the additional responsibility of directing AVLF's volunteers who serve as guardians ad litem for children in contested custody cases in the Family Division of the Fulton Superior Court. In the Juvenile Court, our volunteers act as attorneys for the children. A lawyer for a child must establish an attorney-client relationship with the child, to the extent that such a relationship is possible, given the child's immaturity. Lawyers serving as GAL are officers of the court and assist the court in reaching a decision regarding child custody, visitation, and other child-related issues. Whatever the relationship, however, lawyers for and on behalf of children do much of the same work as any lawyer in any legal matter. We gather and review documents relating to the case. We interview the witnesses and other people knowledgeable of the matter at hand. We study the underlying issues so that we can better understand the allegations, claims, and interests of the parties. We strive for a negotiated agreement, but we prepare for trial when the parties cannot reach agreement.
Working for and on behalf of children is difficult work. We wonder how we can ever know enough about the child and the family to make the right argument or recommendation to the court. We worry what will happen to the child if we get it wrong. We feel the weight of responsibility for the young life before us.
Children come into foster care—state custody—after the state proves to the court that the parents' care and treatment of their children is so deficient that it is—in the words of the law— “contrary to the welfare of the child to remain in the home.” The state child welfare agency then makes efforts—as required by law—to assist the parents in addressing their problems so that the child can return safely to the home. When making the decision to return the child to the home, the court must determine that such a change of custody is in the “best interest of the child.”
Children become the subject of contested matters in the Family Division of the Superior Court when their parents, usually in the context of a divorce or legitimation, disagree about custody, visitation, or (in many cases) everything else in the child's life. In resolving the case, the law provides that the judge must determine what is for the best interest of the child and what will best promote the child's welfare and happiness.
Children's cases in Juvenile Court are governed by the Juvenile Code found in Title 15 of the Georgia Code. Children's cases in the Superior Court are governed by the Domestic Relations law found in Title 19 of the Georgia Code. Both sections of the Code, however, call our attention to the welfare of the child and the child's best interests. Our courts strive to be child-focused, and we at AVLF are proud to be one of the resources brought into the children's cases in an effort to help the court make the decision of the best interest of the child.
The sad thing about these cases involving children, however, is that the children seldom have a best choice available to them. By the very nature of their cases, these children have families filled with discord or deprivation or both. There are times when it is difficult to maintain hope that the children will ever have the chance to grow up with the love and nurturing care that we know is essential to their well-being. Court orders do not improve a parent's poor mental health or economic crisis. Court orders do not resolve the anger that can be so damaging to children. Courts cannot create good parents out of deficient parents.
The lawyers for and on behalf of the children provide the essential service to the child of presenting all of the relevant evidence to the court, so that the court can make the best decision of the children's best interest, even when there is nothing “best” about the children's lives at that time. Children's lawyers and GALs bring the voice of the child to the court. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, children's lawyers and GALs help the child understand the court process. The lawyer tries to answer those questions from the child that have an answer, and acknowledges to the child when there is no answer for some questions.
Working for and on behalf of children is challenging, frustrating, inspiring, and rewarding. It brings tears and laughter. You will lose sleep, but you will gain the knowledge that you worked to help a child.
If you are interested in volunteering for AVLF's Lawyers for Children Program, please contact Lila Bradley via email: lbradley@avlf.org.
