ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County guardian ad litems — attorneys appointed to represent the best interest of minors through legal proceedings — need better standards and training, county Controller Mark Pinsley said Monday.
Pinsley, in a news conference, said his office reviewed the county’s GAL program after getting complaints from parents, including some who sued Lehigh Valley Health Network and its now-retired leader, Dr. Debra D. Esernio-Jenssen.
The review “definitely started there,” but it examined more than those allegations, he said.
The controller’s report focused on guardians’ work in cases involving dependency and high-custody conflict proceedings, but it was not granted access to relevant court records, Pinsley said.
“The lack of clear standards, documentation and independent oversight affects legal obligations, service consistency and public trust in child welfare proceedings."Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley's report of Guardian ad Litems
Pinsley’s report — published in mid-July — says the GAL program in Lehigh County lacks centralization, oversight and consistency in billing and compensation.
The controller’s office also found that many parents believe the county’s Children and Youth Services office is “closely aligned” and not independent from the court system — “even if those concerns are driven more by perception than verifiable bias,” according to the report.
“The lack of clear standards, documentation and independent oversight affects legal obligations, service consistency and public trust in child welfare proceedings,” the report states.
It calls for Lehigh County to consider a “structured reform model” adopted in Florida, Maine and Colorado.
Pinsley two years ago published a report, titled “The Cost of Misdiagnosis,” which alleged a “systemic” pattern of overdiagnosis of medical child abuse in Lehigh and Northampton counties.
That report didn’t specifically mention any clinician or medical group, but there is only one medical group in the region that handles such cases: LVHN’s John Van Brakle Child Advocacy Center.
Esernio-Jenssen was in charge of investigating allegations of child abuse as the center’s director.
Lehigh County’s Office of Children and Youth Services established a new "community-based" Child Advocacy Center last year in Center City Allentown to distance it from the health network.
Other recommendations
Some guardians “exemplify professionalism, neutrality and a commitment to the best interests” of the children they serve, but in many cases “that standard has not been met,” Jeff Steiner, executive director of the Dads’ Resource Center, said during a virtual call Monday with Pinsley and other advocates.
Pinsley offered a handful of other recommendations he believes will improve the program and better ensure GALs serve their intended mission.
Guardians ad litem are tasked with conducting independent investigations into the facts of a case involving those they’re representing by interviewing parents, caretakers and other witnesses, then making recommendations to the court about placement and services.
The Lehigh County controller called for an independent statewide or regional body — one that operates outside the judicial system — to provide oversight and accountability for guardians.
He also called for a system to quickly resolve conflicts that involve allegations of parental abuse.
Define 'best interest': Controller
Guardians should be required to detail their work on behalf of the minors they serve when filing bills to be paid by the county, and their findings should be presented to both parents before court hearings to ensure “fairness,” Pinsley said.
“Without that definition, each one of us is going based on our own feelings. I don't necessarily think that that's good.”Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley
The county also should explicitly define how to evaluate what’s in a child’s best interest, he said.
“The best interest of the child — that needs to be defined very clearly," Pinsley said.
"Because what I believe is the best interest of the child might be very different than what a parent believes is the best interest of the child."
And those ideas “might be very different from what the GAL believes is the best interest of the child,” he said.
“Without that definition, each one of us is going based on our own feelings,” he said. "I don't necessarily think that that's good.”
Pinsley encouraged controllers and officials in other counties to review their GAL programs and consider adopting similar recommendations.
