In cases involving children, courts and parents often bring in professionals to ensure that a child’s interests are protected. Colorado has several types of professionals available to help, and it can be confusing to understand the various roles these professionals may play in the proceedings.
A child’s legal representative or CLR serves in a very different way than a child and family investigator (CFI) or a parental responsibility evaluator (PRE). As a legal team focused on safeguarding children in family law matters, Children First Family Law has extensive experience in the role of CLR and is one of the leading voices as to effective use of CLRs in family law across the state. Our firm also has extensively worked in the role of CFI and has much experience working with CFIs and PREs and explaining the differences, benefits, and limitations of each type of advocate to parents, lawyers, and judges in many different types of family law matters. To help you understand how different professionals may assist in a case, it is useful to explore the differences and similarities between CLRs, CFIs, and PREs.
The Role of a CLR
As a child’s legal representative, sometimes referred to as the guardian ad litem (“GAL”) of the family law courts, a CLR serves as an attorney representing the best interests of a child. Just as each parent in a proceeding had their own attorney who advocates for them in proceedings, a CLR advocates on behalf of the child, but it is a position focused on not just what the child wants (which is an important consideration) but also what the CLR believes to be in the child’s best interests.
Our firm frequently explains that difference like this. If a child says she really likes ice cream and wants ice cream for every single meal every day forever, the CLR would likely advocate that ice cream should be part of the child’s life but would not likely advocate the child should get ice cream for every single meal every day forever. Why? Because that would not be in the child’s best interests. Similarly, but more seriously, if a child has a parent who struggles with alcoholism, yet that child says that he wants to spend 50/50 parenting time with that parent, the CLR would likely advocate that it’s not in the child’s best interests to have 50/50 parenting time or maybe even any parenting time at all until and unless sobriety is confirmed. A child might want to be with a parent, but that child’s best interests might not warrant that being safe.
As an attorney advocate, a CLR participates in the legal process just like other attorneys do for parents. However, unlike other child advocates (CFIs/PREs) who serve as experts and witnesses in a case and provide a report with opinions, the CLR is an attorney, not an expert and not a witness, and the CLR has long-term involvement with the case unless the court ends that role.
Just like a CFI, CLRs have investigative roles as well and must meet with children in person whenever possible, continue to talk to children through the case, interview parents and therapists and other collaterals, review grades and medical records and anything else at issue relating to the best interests of the child on an ongoing basis. But the CLR then does not provide a report, instead negotiating and working with parents to make best interests recommendations directly to parents and counsel and advocating for best next steps for the child.
A CLR can be appointed to take state pay for parents who qualify as indigent. CLRs also take private pay at a fixed hourly rate determined by the CLR in advance. The role can be limited and short or expansive and long, and the total rates charged grow over time depending on how much time the CLR spends on the case.
Because this systemic involvement often can protect a child’s interests with greater effect than other roles, Children First Family Law now focuses our efforts on safeguarding children’s wellbeing and the interests of the family as a whole through the provision of comprehensive CLR services.
How a CFI Functions in a Family Law Case
Unlike a CLR, a child and family investigator or CFI functions as an advisory expert, writes a report, and then can be a witness. The CFI may be an attorney but often is a mental health professional or anyone else with basic training in the effects of domestic violence, child abuse, and child sexual abuse.
A CFI is intended to be neutral rather than to represent the interests of the child or any other party in the proceeding. The court appoints a CFI to investigate and make recommendations based on the investigation, but the CFI’s involvement in and familiarity with the case is often far more minimal and short-term than that of a CLR. A CFI will often only get one opportunity to impact the case when they report their findings and recommendations and then perhaps serve later as a witness. They do not take part in mediation or advocate for a child in court as an attorney.
CFI appointments are currently under a statutory cap of $3,250 for private pay. State-pay appointments are available for parents who can prove a particular level of indigency. Sometimes CFIs end up exceeding that cap and charge more, but they are required to indicate that to parents and ask the court for permission to charge more. They also can charge $500 to testify. Sometimes parents split these costs and other times one parent pays, depending on the court’s order as to that issue.
Because a CFI testifies as a neutral expert while a CLR represents the child as an attorney advocate, the roles are quite distinct. In fact, the law specifies that the same attorney may not serve as both a CLR and CFI in a case. Sometimes courts conflate this and lawyers gets confused as to what role does what things, so it is essential to work with someone who properly understands the nuances of these roles.
Having repeatedly seen the difference that a CLR can make in a case and in a child’s life, Children First Family Law has chosen to discontinue offering CFI services so we can focus on advocacy through the provision of CLR services. Should the firm believe that it is necessary to bring on other experts to aid in the best interests of the child, the CLR can do so – brining in DV experts, child abuse experts, sobriety experts, and the like. The CLR also often facilitates settlement conferences. Nearly 90% of all this firm’s CLR work leads to settlement, even in the most contentious cases with the longest and ugliest record of dysfunction and discord over many, many years. A CLR truly can make the difference in setting parents along a course for long-term solutions and peace.
Further consideration is that CFIs generally have a wait to get started and then take four months to complete their work, which is a long time for children. CLRs can start up much more quickly and provide recommendations far more quickly while still doing the same level of investigative analysis.
What Does a PRE Do?
A parental responsibility evaluator or PRE is not an attorney but a mental health professional. PREs have specialized training enabling them to perform comprehensive psychological evaluations of parents and children. Because of their psychological training, PREs charge considerably more than CFIs although they both perform the same essential functions. PREs and CFIs conduct assessments to make recommendations about physical and legal custody, meaning the amount of time a child spends living with each parent and the ability to make decisions about a child’s life. A PRE may charge additional fees to testify as an expert witness in a case.
Courts oversee the operations of CFIs and CLRs but up until recently, PREs operated with little oversight. Because one parent may hire a PRE, allegations have arisen that PREs often favor one parent in proceedings and ignore important evidence against that parent. For that reason, lawmakers began to require increased training on certain issues and established a complaint process that can be used when someone believes a PRE has violated the Standards of Practice.
Children First Family Law Helps Families Who Need CLR Services
As our name implies, the team at Children First Family Law is passionate about protecting a child’s best interests in every situation. Parents who are concerned about the wellbeing of their children often ask our team to serve as a CLR to ensure that their child’s best interests are given appropriate independent consideration during the course of their legal battle.
To avoid the appearance of favoring one parent in a proceeding, we generally prefer to work through parents’ legal counsel rather than consulting with a parent individually. Best practice therefore is for a parent to reach out with the other parent or through counsel instead of setting an individual consultation with Children First Family Law.