There is no current news. See announcement.
News Headlines By Date (click dates to jump to more detailed info below)
08/18/97 - Phelps County "Lemon-Aid" Raises $6000
Congratulations to the kids of Phelps County, Missouri, who raised over $6000 for the Phelps County Committee to Prevent Child Abuse with their "Lemon-Aid" fundraiser last weekend. The kids gave away free lemonade and asked for donations. The money will be used to support a Healthy Families program in Phelps County.
08/18/97 - Complete Schedule of Events for NACC Conf (Oct. 4th-7th)
Still not sure whether or not you want to attend the Annual Conference of the National Association of Counsel for Children in Albuquerque in October? Here is a complete schedule of events (copied from the conference brochure) so that you can see all of the sessions that will be available.
08/18/97 - MoBar Juv Courts & Laws Committee Web Page
The Missouri Bar Juvenile Courts and Laws Committee web page has now been posted on the MoBar website at http://mobar.org/lawyers/jvfront.htm .
06/13/97 - CASA Satellite Seminar June 27 - "Effective Courtroom Advocacy"
On Friday June 27, from noon to 3PM Eastern time, the program "Effective Courtroom Advocacy: Presenting Your Best Case on Behalf of Abused Children" will be transmitted by satellite. Presenters will be Ann M. Haralambie and Michael Shadow. To participate in this program, you need to find a college, library, or other facility with the necessary downlink equipment. The downlink information is: C band satellite, Galaxy 3 R, Transponder 11. The program is free, except for any charges by the downlink facility. To order program materials, or to obtain further information, you can call either Amy Zimmerman or Marcella Benson-Quazenia at National CASA at 1-800-628-3233.
06/12/97 - More Info on NACC Conference October 4th-7th
The National Association of Counsel for Children will be hosting its 20th Annual Children's Law Conference in Albuquerque, NM, October 4th-7th, 1997. The conference will be at the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque, and the title of the conference is "Advocating for Children in Crisis: Poverty, Violence and Changing Resources." The conference will be comprised of both general sessions and workshops. The workshops will be organized along four tracks: (1) Abuse & Neglect, (2) Juvenile Justice, (3) Custody and Visitation, and (4) Children with Disabilities. For more info you can write to the NACC at 1205 Oneida Street, Denver, Colorado 80220; or call toll-free 1-888-828-NACC (6222). (Here is the complete schedule of events.)
06/12/97 - NCJFCJ Conference July 13th-16th
The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will hold it 60th Annual Conference July 13th-16th in Big Sky, Montana. The conference is entitled, "Family Law and Juvenile Justice: A Call to the Community," and you can call 702-784-6012 for registration and other information.
06/02/97 - MoBar Juv Courts & Law Committee Web Page
I just finished up a new web page for the Missouri Bar Juvenile Courts and Law Committee, and sent it off by email to Linda Oligschlaeger to be added to the MoBar Website. The page on the MoBar site will connect to several subpages on my local server, making it easy to update with News, etc. Until the new page goes up on the MoBar site, you can check it out here. Among other things, the new page includes the Minutes of the Spring Committee Meeting that was held on May 9, 1997. [08/18/97 - the Committee web page is now up on the MoBar site.]
06/01/97 - West Virginia GAL Guidelines
The Guidelines for Children's Attorneys page now includes the GAL guidelines announced by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in the case of In Re Jeffrey R.L..
05/30/97 - NACC 20th Annual Children's Law Conference set for October 4th-7th
The National Association of Counsel for Children will be hosting its 20th Annual Children's Law Conference in Albuquerque, NM, October 4th-7th, 1997. I will post additional details of scheduled seminars and activities as soon as I receive my brochure. For additional information contact NACC at 303-322-2260. (Here is the complete schedule of events.)
05/30/97 - New Documents from DFS, plus 25th Circuit CASA Rules
I just posted some new documents from the Division of Family Services that I picked up at a CASA program last night, with information about reporting suspected child abuse/neglect to the DFS Hotline, procedures for handling abuse/neglect reports made by mandated reporters, and warning signs to watch for in the sexual behavior of children. I also scanned and posted the 25th Judicial Circuit Local Rules of Court regarding Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs). All of these documents can also be reached from the Miscellaneous Documents Index page.
05/28/97 - Recent Cases
State v. Kelley Out-of-court statements by child sexual abuse victim.
Honea v. Powell - Custody awarded to grandparents rather than to father.
Gibson v. Gibson - Foundation not required for Form 14. Court must accept or reject Form 14 from each party, or must complete its own Form 14 based on evidence.
In the Interest of H.R.R. - TPR on grounds not alleged in petition - remand.
Juvenile Officer v. DFS - Appointed counsel's depo expenses in TPR taxed to DFS.
05/20/97 - Video Replays of GAL Training
The Missouri Bar has scheduled video replays of the GAL Training Workshop that was held on April 17-18, 1997. Attending a video replay will allow GAL certification in compliance with Standard 16.0 just as attendance at the original workshop. Video replays are now scheduled for Kansas City (July 11); St. Louis (July 17); Springfield (September 4); and Columbia (November 13). I have been advised that the tapes are also available upon request for circuits or counties wishing to conduct their own video replay seminars. For more info call MoBar CLE at 573-635-4128.
05/08/97 - Recent Cases
In the Interest of L.N.M. - Failure in TPR case to make specific finding as to one of the four subparagraphs under §211.447.2(2) required remand.
In the Interest of A.K.L. - Mother lacked appropriate parenting skills; TPR was proper.
Baumgart v. Baumgart - Mother's actual physical custody during temporary order was itself a change of circumstances that might justify a modification of custody. Also an example of GAL doing inadequate job.
In the Interest of C.T. - Petition which failed to allege any specific instances of abuse or neglect was insufficient to vest the juvenile court with jurisdiction over the child.
Alt v. Alt - joint physical custody order required child to alternate every two weeks from one parent to the other.
04/16/97 - GAL Standards - Michigan and Virginia
I have uploaded HTML copies of the Michigan Guidelines For Advocates For Children and Virginia Standards to Govern the Appointment of Guardians Ad Litem. These documents can be reached from the Guidelines for Children's Attorneys page, which also has links to other state standards online and ordering information for getting printed copies of standards that aren't online yet. Thanks to Mike Foley for providing me a copy of the Michigan State Bar Children's Task Force Final Report, which included the Michigan guidelines; and to Mary Pettitt St. Jean for providing me a copy of the Virginia standards.
04/11/97 - MJJA Conference scheduled for May 21-23
The Spring Meeting of the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association has been scheduled for May 21-23. Available seminars include (1) Solution-Focused Brief Therapy - Michael D. Clark; (2) Investigating and Prosecuting Child Abuse - Susan Perlis Marx; (3) Alcohol and Drug Abuse Assessment, Intervention, Prevention - Jim Kennedy; (4) Aggression Replacement Training - Shirley Solomon, Jeff Spiegel; (5) Building Healthy Self Esteem in Teens - Stephanie Roth Nelson. The conference will be at the Holiday Inn at the Lake of the Ozarks. For more info call MJJA at 573-636-6101.
04/11/97 - Recent Cases
In re Cotton - half-sister of two children found to be "equitable parent"
Mayes v. Mayes - not error for the trial court not to appoint a GAL.
Neal v. Neal - Child support award without Form 14 was invalid.
J.L.S. v. D.K.S. - court should not have simply ordered a standard visitation schedule to begin after one year of counseling, but should have another hearing and require evidence of successful counseling before standard visitation begins.
In the Matter of I.D. - Mother signed consent form that did not expressly consent to the adoption of the child - decree of adoption was set aside.
In the Interest of J.M.B. - GAL/counsel for minor Mother could not waive substantial rights - Mother was deprived of effective assistance of counsel
Farr v. Cloninger - order for non-custodial parent to pay one-half of uninsured medical expenses requires finding that Form 14 amount was unjust
In the Interest of Hill - court did not find Father to be unfit or terminate his parental rights, but ordered that Child remain in the physical custody of Uncle and Aunt under DFS supervision.
In re S.M. and A.M. - preference for relative placement is used only to tip the balance between otherwise equal placements
Here are two more cases that are not recent, but are important for GALs to read. I have both cases available online in full text.
State ex rel Bird v. Weinstock - quasi-judicial immunity for the GAL
In the Interest of J.L.H. - lots of stuff on the duties of the GAL
04/07/97 - Forms added to GAL Handbook
I've converted to HTML a few of the pleadings, motions, etc. that I've used in my own practice as GAL. These can be reached from the GAL Handbook page or the Forms Index page.
03/04/97 - MoBar GAL Training set for April 17 and 18 at Lake of the Ozarks
The Missouri Bar Juvenile Courts & Laws Committee and Family Law Committee are jointly sponsoring a continuing legal education program for attorneys to satisfy the GAL training requirements set forth in Standard 16.0 of the Missouri GAL Standards. The program will be at the Holiday Inn at the Lake of the Ozarks on April 17 and 18. For further information contact the MoBar CLE office at 573-635-4128.
Click here to jump to archive of past GAL News notes.
Jump to Central Missouri Child Advocacy Law Center Page
Notice : This page is provided as a public service by the Central Missouri Child Advocacy Law Center. This page contains links to various information pages and reference pages useful for legal research. The Central Missouri Child Advocacy Law Center has no control over the content of the linked pages, and cannot be responsible for the accuracy of any information in the linked pages. This page is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not legal advice by the Central Missouri Child Advocacy Law Center. If you need advice concerning a specific legal matter, you should consult an attorney in your own jurisdiction.
This GAL News Page is copyright © 1997 by Charles Bennett. While we encourage you to create web-links to this page for easy use and reference, any copying, printing, saving, or otherwise downloading or reproducing of this page itself is strictly prohibited.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Use our Feedback Form.