The Responsibilities and Qualities of a Guardian ad Litem Program Director
The director of a Guardian ad Litem program must operate with a keen understanding that human lives, not mechanical products, are being shaped by their agency’s decisions. Directors know that their staff and volunteer advocates impact the safety, healing, and future success of children navigating trauma, mental health and behavior challenges, and disruption.
While the GAL program is only a part of the Court and Child Protection Services, it has an outsized and federally mandated role in keeping America’s at-risk children safe.This requires a director with vision and backbone: someone who prioritizes independent case investigation, reasonable caseloads, monitoring the right KPIs, and persistent advocacy for children’s best interests—even when this means slowing down, resisting bureaucratic shortcuts, or questioning policies that add to staff workloads but undermine outcomes.
The GAL program director must be skilled at supporting both volunteers and employees, inspiring empathy and ethical action in every case manager. They need to foster accountability, provide rigorous ongoing training, and champion a workplace culture that values relationships, diversity, and open communication with courts, families, and the wider community. Ultimately, the director’s leadership is defined by relentless commitment to the child rather than convenience or system efficiency.
KARA Tracks & reports on the issues of child abuse and child protection.
This article submitted by CASA volunteer Mike Tikkanen
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