Rule 48.04 - Pre-Service Education(A)Pre-service education required for appointmentA guardian ad litem shall complete pre-service education provided by the Supreme Court the Ohio Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Guardian ad Litem Association, or with the approval of the appointing court, another provider.
(B)Pre-service education hours and topics(1) Pre-service education for guardians ad litem shall be twelve hours.(2) Of the twelve hours of pre-service education, six hours shall be obtained via a live education program.(3) The remaining six hours of pre-service education may be satisfied by online or live education, teaching, writing, mentoring, or field-training activities with approval by the appointing court.(4) Six hours of pre-service education shall include training on all the following topics: (a) Basic human needs, stages of child development, and the impact of trauma;(b) Communication skills, including, but not limited to communication with children and adults, interviewing skills, methods of critical questioning, use of open-ended questions, understanding the perspective of a child, sensitivity, building trust, multicultural awareness, diversity, and confidentiality;(c) Child abuse neglect, dependency, unruliness, delinquency, and assessing risk and safety;(d) Family and child issues, including, but not limited to, family dynamics, substance abuse and its effects, basic psychopathology for adults and children, and domestic violence and its effects, including assessing for lethality and safety;(e) Legal processes, the role of a guardian ad litem in court, available community agencies and resources, methods of service, records checks, the role of a guardian ad litem in court, local resources and service practice, report content, mediation, and other types of dispute resolution processes;(f) Any other topic that concerns the role of the guardian ad litem to help determine the best interest of the child.(C)Current Guardians ad LitemAn individual who is currently serving as a guardian ad litem on January 1, 2021, shall be deemed compliant with the pre-service education and not be required to complete the twelve hours of pre-service education.
Ohio. R. Superi. Ct. 48.04
Adopted August 18, 2020, effective 1/1/2021; amended March 8, 2022, effective 7/1/2022.