The House has approved a bill that would shift oversight of the Guardian Ad Litem's office out of the courts and into the governor's office.
HB174, which passed 41-31 Wednesday night, is in response to an audit of the Guardian Ad Litem, which recommended that the office be shifted to the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice from the Judicial Council because of a possible conflict with the courts, sponsoring Rep. Lavar Christensen, R-Draper, said. The conflict would potentially occur when an employee of the Guardian Ad Litem's office was representing in a child to the same judges who are charged with overseeing the office.
"It would be the worst conflict to have the person making that final decision the person who also hires those representatives," Christensen said.