Local Juvenile Court Rule 9.4
                   APPOINTMENT OF NON-LAWYER GUARDIAN AD LITEM


    (A)  Generally.  It shall be the policy of the court to appoint a non-lawyer
guardian ad litem for a juvenile in lieu of an attorney in all proceedings other
than offender matters involving juveniles under the age of nine (9) years.  The
court may appoint a non-lawyer guardian ad litem in lieu of or in addition to an
attorney in all proceedings other than offender matters involving juveniles who
are nine (9) years of age of older.  A guardian ad litem is deemed a party to
the proceeding upon appointment.

    (B)  Procedure.

        1. Dependency/Guardianship/Termination Proceedings.  The court may appoint a
guardian ad litem for a child after the court has entered a finding of
dependency pursuant to RCW 13.34 or at any other appropriate stage of a
proceeding.  In cases involving more than one child from the same family unit,
the court may appoint one guardian ad litem to represent the interests of all
the children.

        2. Other Proceedings.  The court may appoint a guardian ad litem when it deems
such an appointment necessary.

    (C)  Role.  The guardian ad litem shall be an advocate on behalf of and in the
best interests of the child.  The guardian ad litem shall serve as a participant
in court proceedings.  A guardian ad litem shall be entitled to full access to
all parties and relevant records and to receive notice as a party.

    (D)  Certification.  No guardian ad litem shall be appointed to represent a
child until he/she has successfully completed an approved training course
supervised by the court and administered an oath of office by the court.  A
guardian ad litem shall be free of influence from anyone interested in the
result of the proceeding.

    (E)  Reports.  In all proceedings, the guardian ad litem shall submit a written
report to the court addressing all relevant factors and making a recommendation
to the court as to an appropriate disposition in the best interests of the
child.  All reports submitted by a guardian ad litem will be provided to the
court and parties no later than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled hearing.  A
report received within five (5) days of a hearing may constitute good cause of a
continuance if a party requests a continuance.

    (F)  Representation by Attorney.  A guardian ad litem may be represented by an attorney.


[Adopted effective April 1, 1988, amended effective September 1, 2008]