02291996 - News Article - County Council questions need for second child center

County Council questions need for second child center
NWI Times
Feb 29, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/county-council-questions-need-for-second-child-center/article_9f064cdee8ea-50d2-ab15-ba9124716d3f.html
VALPARAISO - The Porter County Council is the wrong forum for debating the performance and compensation of guardian ad litem Beatrice Lightfoot and the program she founded for divorced parents and their children, council members said.

Lightfoot's request that the county reimburse her for representing children in rancorous divorce cases attracted emotional protests from parents and other child advocates who insist Lightfoot is unfit to represent children or operate her Children/Parent Center in Chesterton.

The council told the center director on Tuesday that no appropriation for Lightfoot would be considered unless the county judges request funding as part of the court system's budget.

"Without a request there's nothing we're going to do," Council member Karen Martin said. "If it's not in the budget, it's not going to get heard."

The council grilled center director Karen Klein about the need for Lightfoot's services when the county is already paying for other child advocates and subsidizing another house for supervised visitation by non-custodial parents.

"I think what we're hearing is that the council would probably look on this as a duplication of services," Council President Ruth Ann McWhorter said.

Klein maintained that Lightfoot's Children/Parent Center offers longer hours and more services than the county-funded Family House in Valparaiso.

Klein said Lightfoot opened her own center last fall because of numerous scheduling conflicts with Family House and personality clashes with the house's staff.

Lightfoot's center provides a neutral location for children to meet with their non-custodial parents. Lightfoot also serves as a court-appointed guardian ad litem in custody disputes. When judges decide which parent to award custody to, they often rely on Lightfoot's investigations about the parents' conduct and the quality of parents' living conditions.

Although most guardians ad litem are attorneys appointed by the court for specific custody cases, Lightfoot has been volunteering as a guardian for several years.

Lightfoot is not an attorney, but she donated $60,000 to the court system to establish a guardian ad litem program. The program has yet to be implemented. Klein said Lightfoot has cases in Porter, Lake and LaPorte counties and presented letters of support for Lightfoot from judges and the Division of Child and Family Services.

But Kim Cole of Chesterton accused Lightfoot of being confrontational and high-handed in evaluating parents in custody cases. Lightfoot also was accused of disregarding non-custodial parents' rights, overlooking violations of custody orders and lying about the fathers' child-rearing capabilities.

"She has presented herself in a very forceful manner," Cole said during emotional testimony about her experiences with Lightfoot.