Guardian No More

So it's been just over a year since I was trained and certified to be a Guardian Ad Litem. I never could stand bureaucracy, and this program has one that would make the Byzantines jealous. At one point, on a conference call, nine paid "professionals"prattled on for a solid hour, with none of them doing a thing for the ward. When I pointed this out -- they suggested that I do a site visit!!!! Anyway, my ward turned 17 a few months ago, and I committed to staying on until she was 18. She had a baby a few months ago, and my supervisor in the program asked me to be the baby's GAL as well. I declined -- first, it was clear to me there was a clear conflict -- I was advocating for the teen mother, and what would happen if, for example, she wanted to keep the baby, but it wasn't in the baby's best interest? Plus, I don't relate to infants, and didn't wish to obligate myself for another 18 years. No, I told my handler, as I call him -- I'll stay in my volunteer role for the teen Mom, and you can get someone to be GAL for the baby. Not so fast! The program decided to show me for being uppity -- they convinced the judge that my ward no longer needed a GAL, but her baby did, so I was "discharged." The good news is that my severance package was 10 times my salary -- and 10 times zero is zero, so I have nothing to report to the government as income. The bad news is that my ward could surely have benefitted from my counsel for another 10 months or so, and I told her in a text she was free to seek my advice if she wished. She won't. I made clear to her my thoughts about her life -- keep grades up, stay focused, and get a scholarship to an Ivy League college. Instead, she failed most classes and got pregnant at 16. As Tony S says, what are ya gonna do? My brother of another mother Paul has far more patience than I do with the program. He continues to volunteer avidly, and has several GAL kids as clients -- a few of whom are past 18 and who he still mentors. He refuses to let the absurdity of the program bog him down -- choosing instead to simply refuse to follow the ridiculous rules, and getting the state monkeys to do his required reports for him. I applaud him, and admire him for this service. But as John Fogarty sang, It ain't me." So I wish my ward well, and hope somehow she uses her superior intelligence for greatness -- for herself, her baby, and her community. And maybe the year I spent with her will have some result. I'm now free of the program, and truth be told, rather happy about it.