InvestigateWest reporting on child welfare system finds court-appointed guardians have low oversight, puts parents at disadvantage

New reporting from InvestigateWest finds it’s difficult for parents in Washington to challenge flawed reports concerning guardians ad litem, the court-appointed guardians assigned to children in custody cases, who decide where their children will stay temporarily. If parents do challenge these professionals, they risk hurting their case to regain custody of their children. In Washington, with little oversight and inadequate state-mandated training for guardians, parents are seldom able to hold guardians ad litem accountable for inaccurate or biased investigations. In some situations, children have been placed by these guardians in homes with abusive adults, and some parents have even lost custody of their children to abusers.

Kelsey Turner, a reporter with InvestigateWest, joins us to discuss her reporting, including a few Washington cases that have shaped the call to reform standards for this role.

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