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Criticisms prompt new court rules
NWI Times
Nov 3, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/criticisms-prompt-new-court-rules/article_00b16963-05ef-5e94-a5f4-93214d138711.html
VALPARAISO - Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber helped his court-appointed guardian ad litem, Beatrice Lightfoot, found a children's visitation center.
Incorporation documents filed Oct. 16, 1995 show Webber, Lightfoot and Steven Krieger, now of Michigan, are co-incorporators of the Children-Parent Center in Chesterton, a nonprofit corporation to which Webber in his official judicial duties approves families for supervised visitation, transfers between divorcing parents, and parenting classes.
An annual report received by the state Sept. 24, 1996, names Lightfoot president and Krieger secretary. Webber's name appears as one of nine board members.
On Friday, in a written response to inquiries by The Times, Webber wrote he resigned from the board at its first board meeting. He did not give the date of the meeting.
Lightfoot, the widow of a Portage developer, has been criticized by a citizens' group composed of child advocates and parents led by Helen Boothe of Dune Acres. The group questioned Lightfoot's neutrality and opposed Lightfoot's seeking Porter County dollars to help fund the venture, which they said duplicates services offered by Valparaiso's Family House.
Lightfoot receives no payment for her guardian ad litem services, but has sought reimbursement for the center's visitation services from a monthly stipend earmarked for Family House.
Residents of Lake and LaPorte counties can be charged $30 an hour for supervised visitation and up to $70 for three hours and $20 each additional hour. However, the fees can be adjusted, according to Karen Klein, services manager for Children/Parent Center.
As in Porter and Lake counties, LaPorte county officials say visitation services are billed directly to parents by the agency to which they're referred. A spokeswoman for the Lake County Auditor's office said the county has no record of payments to the Children/Parent Center nor does the office of the court administrator for Lake County Circuit Court.
Klein put the center's visitation caseload in October at 32 Porter County families to Family House's 16. She referred inquiries about Lake and LaPorte county statistics to Lightfoot.
Klein said Lightfoot's caseload as guardian ad litem was approximately 75.
It's unclear how many are active.
Lightfoot has declined requests for an interview. Krieger did not return telephone calls. Webber declined interview requests, but responded to questions from The Times in a four-page narrative.
In the narrative, Webber wrote he knew and respected Lightfoot for her concern for children and agreed to serve as an incorporator because he believed the Children/Parent Center was needed.
The sheriff's investigation
In February, responding to criticism of Lightfoot's performance as a guardian ad litem, Webber requested an investigation by the Porter County Sheriff's Department.
According to Sheriff Larry Dembinski, the investigation was assigned to detective Sgt. Joey Larr by his captain, William Woods, after a conversation between Dembinski and Webber.
Larr submitted his findings to Webber in a report dated June 28. The four-page sheriff's report obtained by The Times concluded Lightfoot made minor errors but did not directly or intentionally commit any wrongdoing.
The report also called for mandatory and expanded training for guardians ad litem and an increase in funding to avoid "their overuse and eventual burnout."
At the time he requested the investigation, Webber said the allegations "went beyond sour grapes."
Webber said he wanted the sheriff to investigate the complaints because of their legal and ethical nature.
Questions about Lightfoot's performance came to the attention of all six of the county's judges through Boothe's intercession.
Boothe's hand-carried letter informed the judges she had obtained information she believed was critical of Lightfoot's performance. The information came to her through "friend of friends over a period of 18 months."
Boothe submitted to the judges a 12-point statement outlining alleged misconduct by Lightfoot, such as presenting to the court false information and "an exaggerated/distorted account of reality."
Boothe also gave the judges a petition she said was signed by at least 35 individuals who opposed funding Children/Parent Center as a duplication of services and questioned the neutrality of Lightfoot referring her own cases to the center.
At the time, Lightfoot said she believed the criticism came from parents who had misdirected their anger at losing custody of their children.
Within days of Webber's calling for the investigation, one of the parents, Kimberly Cole of Chesterton, accompanied by Boothe, went public at a meeting of the Porter County Council, which was hearing a request for funding of the Children/Parent Center.
During a lengthy presentation to the council, Cole questioned whether Lightfoot abused her power.
"Over and over again she has expressed that she has influence over the judicial system," Cole told the council at the time.
Also at the time, Cole was facing two felony battery charges in connection with her ex-husband's allegations she had struck his son by a former marriage.
In May, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charges on the condition there were no related allegations for one year.
Cole became one of the five parents interviewed by Larr during the sheriff's investigation.
"They were all of the strong opinion that Lightfoot did not accurately represent them throughout the court proceedings," Larr wrote in his report.
"They all felt Lightfoot had a tendency to take one side of the story, and never waiver or permit an argument of their opinions."
The parents conveyed "an adamant dislike of ... the court-appointed power and discretion granted Lightfoot," according to the report. They also believed Lightfoot had not been properly trained and felt her reports were confusing and not understandable.
When pressed, however, none of the five could give a specific occasion when Lightfoot had deliberately presented false information, according to Larr's report.
They protested Lightfoot's "private conversations with the judge or magistrate during court and out of earshot of their attorneys," Larr reported.
In researching Lightfoot's reports to the court, Larr said he found minor errors tending to be grammatical or the mistaking of a person's name.
The report said there were occasions when further work by Lightfoot "may have solved a problem or at least given the witness a sense of being equally represented."
Larr described Lightfoot as "a motivated, strongly opinionated, compassionate individual" whose opinions are based on her training as a court-appointed special advocate and "what she feels is best for the children and the parents she is assigned to assist."
Larr found Lightfoot is one of approximately nine county guardians ad litem and the only one who is not an attorney.
All the attorneys are paid out of the court budget, while Lightfoot's services are free, according to Larr. Consequently, Lightfoot received 10 to 12 cases a year versus two or three assigned the attorneys, according to the report.
A review of available court records by The Times confirms Lightfoot is the lone non-attorney and has the greatest number of cases. Out of 33 guardian ad litem appointments made in Webber's court since 1994, Lightfoot received 23.
Larr recommended an expansion of training and funds for guardians ad litem, but made no mention of the $60,000 donated in 1992 by Lightfoot to the court for the establishment of a guardian ad litem program, which has gone unused and earned more than $8,000 in interest according to auditor's records.
Larr declined comment on the investigation, but Woods said Webber told the matter came up at a judges' meeting and the decision was made to ask the department to investigate any foundation to the complaints against Lightfoot.
"It was simply a matter of talking to people who made the complaints to see exactly what the complaints were, and the matter was referred back to the judge," said Woods, Larr's captain.
Woods said the issue was not criminal in nature, and the investigation's results were left to the judges to follow up. He received no follow-up requests, he said.
Several of the involved parents question the thoroughness of the investigation.
"It was a joke," Cole said. "(Larr) called me on the phone and asked me a couple of questions (such as) could I specifically poinpoint anything she lied about in court. I basically believe it was a sweep-under-the-rug type of investigation."
David Stout of Valparaiso said he recalled only one telephone conversation with Larr. "I don't believe it was really checked into."
Another parent went to see Larr at his office. They talked for 30 to 45 minutes, said Betty Wonch of Merrillville.
"There was no investigation," Wonch said. "(Larr) was so eager to get in our file and then he didn't bother to go get it."
"If (parents) have anything to say in criticism of our investigation, they should take it up with the judge who ordered it," Woods said.
"Police catch criminals, they're not a political tool," Woods said, adding he believed Boothe was playing politics and the judiciary was doing everything it could to be fair and to correct problems with guardian ad litem services.
"I consider Mrs. Lightfoot to be qualified to serve as a GAL (guardian ad litem). She had completed the required State of Indiana training and has annually updated the training. Further, she has completed the training to become an instructor of CASA/GAL training. She is a mother and grandmother, is a successful businesswoman and has considerable life experiences. From my observation, she has a sincere concern for children and seeing to their best interests nor is she influenced by political pressure or scurilous, unfounded and unsupported accusations," Webber wrote in his response.
Several judges considered the report a vindication of Lightfoot, and all agreed guardian ad litem services needed improvement.
Circuit Court Judge Raymond Kickbush and officials from the Youth Service Bureau, who operate the CASA (court-appointed special advocate) program in Porter County, have confirmed Lightfoot took the CASA training some years ago.
Kickbush said Lightfoot has not been associated with the CASA program in at least three or four years.
The extent of Lightfoot's training beyond the county's CASA program could not be verified. She has declined requests to be interviewed.
"I'm not sure this investigation was focused in a way that truly addresses the guardian ad litem issues," Judge Harper said at the time. "I don't want to say 'program' because we don't really have one."
Harper also said preliminary draft of a program proposal was being prepared and needed to be followed up by the judges. The new rules were issued Oct. 29.
"I'm glad (Larr) found no wrongdoing whatsoever as was alleged, and we had already been planning to get some specific training for all guardians at litem, be they attorneys or not," Judge Bradford said.
"There's nothing to prevent me from appointing Mrs. Lightfoot as a guardian ad litem," he said.
"I've seen the sheriff's police report and even though nothing appeared to be improper, the court as a whole thinks we need guidelines for the appointment of guardians ad litem," Judge Vaidik said on commenting on the sheriff's report.
"I'm very pleased that the report indicated no indiscretion in the cases involved," said Thode at the time, adding he believed the origin of the problem was legislative. "I do think we need to do more with the guardian ad litem program, and we're headed in that direction."
Judge Kickbush declined comment in reference to the results of the investigation, saying he did not expect to appoint Lightfoot to his court nor use the center she founded. Kickbush's child welfare cases are assigned to a court-appointed special advocate program operated by the Youth Service Bureau. Contributions to the court
Other questions by Lightfoot's critics involve her contributions to the campaigns of four of the county's six judges and a current judicial candidate.
Critics point to the campaign contributions and other donations to the court, such as courthouse metal detectors, as support for their allegations about the influence Lightfoot allegedly has with the courts.
Cole's ex-husband, Todd Cole of Michigan City, recently exercised his option to have their son, Andrew, picked up for his visits with his mother at Children/Parent Center, a move Kimberly Cole protested.
"I don't think it's appropriate since I testified in open court and in public (Lightfoot's) not adequately qualified," Kimberly Cole said.
Cole added she feared Lightfoot's influence. "(Lightfoot's) said she has enough authority she can go to the magistrate if I don't do what she wants."
Most recently, the court approved a new magistrate, guardian ad litem and visitation center in the Cole case.
Campaign disclosure forms show Lightfoot has been the largest individual contributor, by a wide margin, to the campaigns of Webber and Porter Superior Court Judge Nancy Vaidik, both Democrats, and Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode, a Republican.
Webber received $2,000 from Lightfoot for his 1994 run. In 1990, Lightfoot's $1,000 contribution was matched only by Charles Graddick of Gary.
In 1994, Thode's committee reported receiving $3,000 from Lightfoot and $200 from Lightfoot's son, Leif.
Vaidik, meanwhile, received a total of $1,100 from Lightfoot in 1992 and $500 for her 1996 primary.
Lightfoot made a $2,000 contribution to the recent primary campaign of Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.
There are no recent records showing contributions to retiring Republican Judge Raymond Kickbush or to Republican Porter Superior Court Judge Mary Harper, currently a Circuit Court candidate.
Disclosure forms for her Democratic opponent, Valparaiso attorney Hugo Martz show he has received $2,000 from Lightfoot. "With all contributions, it's made very clear that there are no strings attached," Martz said recently.
"Mrs. Lightfoot contributed to my campaign," Webber wrote. "I do not consider it a conflict of interest that anyone with the CPC (Children/Parent Center) contributed to my campaign," Webber continued. "A great many people contributed to my campaign."
Judges Bradford, Thode and Vaidik have said Lightfoot has not used campaign contributions to influence them.
While Lightfoot has declined to discuss her political contributions, former Porter County Councilman Jack Clem, also a former Portage City Councilman and acquaintance of Lightfoot's, said Lightfoot, the widow of an early Portage developer, never has been active politically.
"She goes to the candidates she wants," Clem said. "There's not a lot of people in either party who really know her," Clem said.
THE NEW RULES
Until jointly filing with the Porter County Clerk a "Guardians Ad Litem Local Rule" on Oct. 29, the six judges appeared divided on the issues surrounding Lightfoot and the center.
The three-page document establishes guidelines for the appointment, qualifications, duties, administration and implementation of guardian ad litem services.
*Appointment of guardians ad litem:
The new court rule includes the naming by the court of a three-person panel from the a list of approved guardians ad litem maintained by the court administrator.
In successive turns, the court administrator will assign three names to a panel until the entire list has been named to a panel.
Once the entire list has been named to panels, the names will be reshuffled, the list recreated and new panels named.
In the event the court determines that a conflict of interest exists with a panel member, the court administrator will appoint the next name to the list.
Within set time periods, each party will strike a name and the remaining guardian ad litem will be court-appointed.
*Qualifications:
Guardians ad litem will be an attorney or non-attorney volunteer who has completed a court-approved training program that is required for a court-appointed special advocate.
Non-attorneys will complete six hours of training. Attorneys will complete 12 hours of training. Both must complete three hours of annual training, submit to a criminal records check and may be removed from the list by the court.
*Administration:
The names of the next available guardian ad litem will remain confidential until a panel has been selected.
The court administrator will maintain files on each guardian ad litem that include: name, address, telephone, qualifications, brief personal history, whether the person is an attorney, and any additional information the guardian ad litem provides.
*Fees:
Guardians ad litem will receive no compensation, but may be entitled to expenses upon approval of the court.
The court will assess a user fee in each case.
An attorney appointed to assist the guardian ad litem, however, will be compensated.
The new court rule, however, does not address any issues surrounding the selection of Children/Parent Center or Family House.
"All the judges have the interest of the children at heart, but see things from slightly different angles, although with a common goal," Harper said in September after reluctantly going public with her misgivings about the potential of shifting funds from Family House to Children/Parent Center .
Harper urged the Porter County Council to leave things as they are after several judges asked the council to have more than $33,000 earmarked for children's visitation services deposited into the general court budget over which all the judges would have control.
The money for years has been in the circuit court budget of Judge Raymond Kickbush, who used it to fund Family House.
The council heeded Harper. "I'm really pleased with the actions the council took. "It's fair and in the best interest of the children," she said at the time.
Harper didn't think the sheriff's investigation "focused on what I know is there. There is room for a great deal of improvement."
Harper said one aspect that would be a focus of a program would be qualifications. "People at Family House are all degreed in nursing or social work or related fields," Harper said. "That would certainly merit consideration in the potential for the guardian ad litem situation."
Klein, manager at Children/Parent Center and the only staff member, said she has a high school education buttressed by 32 years of life and work experiences. She was executive vice president of three businesses belonging to Dr. Philip Kellar in Merrillville, Highland and Hobart. The last of Kellar's medical centers closed in 1992, said Klein, who also did Kellar's property management.
She began working for Family House in October 1993 as office manager and visit supervisor, until joining Children/Parent Center in October 1995.
Klein said she was trained on-site at Family House, doing its bookkeeping and supervising 40 percent of the visitation, and served as interim director for three months while the facility searched for a new director.
She said no therapy is done at either facility. As with Family House, Klein sits with families during their visits, making sure "everyone relates to each other appropriately."
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