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State Guardian ad Litem director urges budget increase to address high turnover and caseloads
Summary
Barbara Oliver, director of the Guardian ad Litem program administered by Youth Works, told the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division committee the program is losing volunteers and paid advocates, has far higher caseloads than neighboring states and needs a larger budget and staffing to meet demand.
Barbara Oliver, director of the state Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program administered through Youth Works, told the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division committee that the program is struggling to recruit and retain advocates and that staffing shortages are reducing the time advocates can spend on individual cases.
Oliver said the program has lost 31 different guardian ad litems “from 02/2 to today” (as stated in testimony) and that 16 of those left after between one day and nine months, with an average tenure of about three months. She described North Dakota caseloads as “extremely high,” citing Minnesota’s…
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