Guardian ad litem program. |
12LSO-0095.L1 |
FISCAL NOTE
The Wyoming Guardians Ad Litem Program (GAL Program) was created during the 2005 Legislative Session through House Bill 314. The legislation was enacted and the funds were appropriated for guardians ad litem (GALs) in child protection, children in need of supervision, delinquency, termination of parental rights, and appellate actions. House Bill 314 appropriated funds to the Wyoming Supreme Court to reimburse the counties for a portion of the hourly rate they paid GALs in their county. The GAL Program resided at the Wyoming Supreme Court from its inception in 2005 until 2008.
On July 1, 2008, the administration of the GAL Program was transferred from the Wyoming Supreme Court to the Wyoming Office of the Public Defender pursuant to 2008 Wyoming Session Laws Chapter 48, Section 316. The GAL Program is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming and employs or contracts with attorneys throughout the state to provide legal representation for children in the proceedings listed above.
The GAL Program was created and relocated by Session Law and was never codified in the statutes. The Program has already been appropriated funds to operate and is part of the standard budget at the Public Defender’s Office. This bill does not add or reduce the fiscal expenditures for the Program but brings the statutes into conformance with the Program’s creation. All current operations will remain the same.
Prepared by: Matthew Sackett, LSO Phone: 777-7881
(Information provided by: Stacey Obrecht, Wyoming Guardians Ad Litem Program; Phone: 777-3650).