14-12-101. Guardian ad litem program; administration by the public defender's office; standards; rulemaking; reporting.

(a) The office of the state public defender shall administer a guardian ad litem program. The program shall employ or contract with, supervise and manage attorneys providing legal representation as guardians ad litem in the following cases and actions:

(i) Child protection cases under W.S. 14-3-101 through 14-3-440;

(ii) Children in need of supervision cases under W.S. 14-6-401 through 14-6-440, to the extent an attorney has been appointed to serve only as a guardian ad litem;

(iii) Delinquency cases under W.S. 14-6-201 through 14-6-252, to the extent an attorney has been appointed to serve only as a guardian ad litem;

(iv) Termination of parental rights actions under W.S. 14-2-308 through 14-2-319, brought as a result of a child protection, child in need of supervision or delinquency action;

(v) Interstate Compact on Juveniles proceedings under W.S. 14-6-102, when requested by the juvenile or the court;

(vi) Appeals to the Wyoming supreme court in the cases or actions specified in this subsection.

(b) The program shall be administered by an administrator appointed by the state public defender. The administrator shall be an attorney in good standing with the Wyoming state bar with experience in guardian ad litem representation, child welfare and juvenile justice.

(c) The office shall adopt policies and rules and regulations governing standards for the legal representation by attorneys acting as guardians ad litem in cases under the program and for the training of those attorneys. The policies and rules shall ensure that the program will be separate and distinct from the office's performance of duties involving criminal defense and representation of a juvenile other than as a guardian ad litem in delinquency proceedings. To the maximum extent possible, the policies and rules shall ensure all fiscal and information technology duties for the program are kept separate from the fiscal and information technology duties for the office of the public defender. Any attorney providing services to the program as a guardian ad litem shall meet the standards established by the office for the program.

(d) The office shall include within its biennial budget request submitted under W.S. 9-2-1013 a report of the reimbursement for legal representation of children by attorneys as guardians ad litem in child protection or children in need of supervision cases. The report shall include the number of cases and the amount of funds expended for reimbursements and the amounts of matching monies from participating counties under W.S. 14-12-103 for each of the two (2) immediately preceding fiscal years. The county attorney in any county not participating in the program shall submit a report containing the same information for the county to the joint appropriations interim committee by December 1 of each odd numbered year.