Office of Guardian Ad Litem

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 14, ch. 12
in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-12-101 Office of guardian ad litem; guardian ad litem program; rulemaking; reporting.

(a) The office of guardian ad litem shall administer a guardian ad litem program. The office 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 (b) Repealed by Laws 2020, ch. 122, § 3. (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. 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.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-12-102 Appointment of office to provide guardian ad litem services.

(a) In cases specified in W.S. 14-12-101(a), if the county in which the court is located participates in the program administered by the office: (i) The court shall appoint the office to provide services when appointing a guardian ad litem. For purposes of this article, references to the program include the office; (ii) The administrator or designee shall assign an attorney to act as guardian ad litem in accordance with the court's order. (b) The office shall cooperate with juvenile courts in developing a case appointment system in each participating county for all applicable cases requiring the appointment of a guardian ad litem. (c) An attorney accepting a guardian ad litem assignment shall be employed by or contract with the office to provide services in accordance with requirements established by the office. The contract shall specify the fees to be paid for the assignment, which may be a defined hourly or per case rate or a defined sum. Fees paid by the office may vary based upon the type and difficulty of the case, location, work required and experience.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-12-103 County participation; reimbursement; offices and equipment.

(a) The office of guardian ad litem shall enter into agreements with each county participating in the program. Agreements shall require counties to comply with all rules and policies established by the office. The agreement shall establish the compensation rate within the county for attorneys providing legal representation as guardians ad litem in program cases and the reimbursement requirements. A county may agree with an attorney providing services to the office to pay a rate in excess of the rate set for payment by the office. If a county agrees to do so, it shall enter into a separate contract with the attorney providing services and shall be responsible and obligated to reimburse the program for one hundred percent (100%) of the excess amount. The county shall enter into a separate agreement with the office setting out the agreement, the excess rate and the responsibilities and obligations of all parties. (b) The office shall pay from the guardian ad litem account one hundred percent (100%) of the fees for the legal representation of children by attorneys as guardians ad litem in program cases. Participating counties shall reimburse the office an amount equal to not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the agreed program fees, not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the office's administrative cost prorated by program funds expended in each county and one hundred percent (100%) of excess rate fees. The office shall invoice the county for its proportionate share. In the event a county does not make payments within ninety (90) days, the state treasurer may deduct the amount from sales tax revenues due to the county from the state and shall credit the amount to the account created in subsection (c) of this section. (c) There is created a guardian ad litem account. All reimbursements received by the office under this article shall be deposited to the account. Funds within the account are continuously appropriated to the office of guardian ad litem for expenditure for the sole purpose of the guardian ad litem program. (d) Agreements entered into under this section shall include provision for each county, in which guardians ad litem employed by or under contract with the office are located, to provide adequate space and utility services, other than telephone service, for the use of the program's guardians ad litem. If suitable office space for all guardians ad litem cannot be provided, the county shall provide, based upon a proportional share, a monthly stipend to all program guardians ad litem housed in private facilities. The proportional share shall be determined by the office, based upon the counties served by each guardian ad litem not provided suitable office space. The stipend shall be paid directly by the county to the program guardian ad litem. (e) A county which does not participate in the program, shall be responsible for the full cost of guardians ad litem legal fees as provided by W.S. 14-2-318(b)(i), 14-3-434(b)(vi), 14-6-235(b)(vi) and 14-6-434(b)(vi). (f) The office shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the department of family services under which a guardian ad litem will be provided for cases in which the department is required by law or court order to provide guardian ad litem services in any of the cases or actions specified in W.S. 14-12-101(a). The department shall reimburse the office an amount equal to not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the agreed fees paid to guardians ad litem in actions under this subsection.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-12-104 Applicability of the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act and state self-insurance program.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any attorney providing services for the office pursuant to the guardian ad litem program shall, for matters arising out of such services, be considered a state employee for purposes of coverage and representation under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act and the state self-insurance program, W.S. 1-41-101 through 1-41-111.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title14.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026

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