11261996 - News Article - Lightfoot breaks silence on ties to court

Lightfoot breaks silence on ties to court
NWI Times
Nov 26, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/lightfoot-breaks-silence-on-ties-to-court/article_8bf8eb47-16f7-5c86-a488-ea18bf24fa9b.html
BURNS HARBOR - Guardian ad litem Beatrice Lightfoot of Burns Harbor responded Monday to news articles that chronicled her relationship to the courts that appoint her.

In a letter to the editor submitted to The Times and other area newspapers, Lightfoot departed from the silence she has maintained since complaints of her performance surfaced at a February meeting of the Porter County Council. Prior to stories beginning Nov. 10 in The Times, Lightfoot and Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber did not respond to repeated requests for individual and/or joint interviews, including a certified letter to Lightfoot on Oct. 23.

Webber ultimately agreed to respond to written questions provided by The Times. His response, printed in full, appeared Nov. 10.

"Personally, I still have no idea where this campaign against me, and members of the court, originated," Lightfoot wrote Monday. "No doubt there is some political agenda behind it of which I am not aware, and I may be the target only in an attempt to discredit others."

Lightfoot briefly discusses her significant political contributions to the court as following "no political lines, nor (having) any political agenda. They were, and always will be, directed to those whom I believe will best serve the needs of the children of our county."

The criticisms of Lightfoot by a citizens' group of child advocates and parents and the discovery of Lightfoot's significant contributions to the courts as well as her co-founding a children's visitation center with a judge who approved her placements led to the Porter County judiciary adopting a new court rule, its first since 1989.

The court rule establishes guidelines for the appointment and qualifications of guardians ad litem in divorce cases.

As a result, several of the attorneys active as guardians ad litem withdrew from providing the service.

Lightfoot's letter discusses a training program for guardians ad litem arranged by the Children/Parent Center, the children's visitation center she co-founded with Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber.

11251996 - News Article - Judge Kickbush must act

Judge Kickbush must act
NWI Times
Nov 25, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/judge-kickbush-must-act/article_9619570c-ec72-5197-8fafe446dd0be85c.html
The issue: The new court rules regarding guardian ad litem appointments are limited to divorce cases.

Our opinion: Judge Kickbush needs to exercise his authority as presiding judge and resolve these moral and ethical issues.

The new Porter County court rule that was supposedly adopted to address, and restrict, unilateral guardian ad litem appointments has its limitations.

The rule limits its guidelines to only divorce cases.

As a result, Judge Thomas Webber is free to appoint his co-incorporator of the Children/Parent Center and his campaign's top financial contributor as a guardian ad litem in cases other than divorces. And he has.

About a week after the new rule was adopted, Judge Webber appointed Beatrice Lightfoot of Burns Harbor as guardian ad litem in a guardianship case where there is no divorce.

When the new rules were announced we were led to believe the rule would eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest because the parties involved would be able to select a GAL from a list of three proposed.

Clearly, it was the intent of the rule to prevent judges' unilateral appointments of guardians ad litem. Just as clearly, it hasn't.

Who knows whether this was an oversight by the judges or intentional?

What we do know, however, is that it's time to go back to the drawing board and amend the rule by eliminating the divorce case restriction.

Why? Because we believe all guardian ad litem parties should have the same rights and protections, not just those going through a divorce.

And where is the court's leadership? It appears to be lacking.

Recently, Judge Raymond Kickbush said he had no power or authority to address any questionable operation or conduct in the Porter County Courts. He said, basically, the judges all run their own courtrooms and he has nothing to say about how they conduct their business.

So who's in charge of the courts?

Indiana law specifically directs the Porter County Court judges to either select a presiding judge or, in the absence of that action, the judge with seniority automatically becomes the presiding judge.

The six Porter County judges haven't selected a presiding judge. So the senior judge - Raymond Kickbush - is the presiding judge.

He knows Indiana law regarding the court system, and he should know it's his job to ensure the proper operation and conduct of the court and its judges.

Yet despite his attempts to distance himself from the controversy in Porter County's courts, the fact is he can and should be the leading force behind resolving those issues.

It is understandable that Kickbush, who is retiring at the end of this year, would want to end his otherwise relatively distinguished career of public service without handling a controversy in the courts.

He has attempted to rationalize his lack of leadership, saying Porter County's courts operate by a consensus of the judges.

That sounds benevolent, but it really is unconscionable to think Kickbush, a man of the law, would elect to ignore this mess in our courts.

Clearly, court operation and conduct questions are his responsibility as the presiding judge.

With little time remaining on his term, Judge Kickbush should show the leadership skills he's displayed in the past. He must attempt to resolve the critical moral and ethical issues facing the courts.

In doing so, he will assure his legacy remains intact as a man who enforces the law equally.

11241996 - News Article - County guardian ad litem program stalled by rule

County guardian ad litem program stalled by rule
NWI Times
Nov 24, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/county-guardian-ad-litem-program-stalled-by-rule/article_82aad8bf-0311-54d3-8d91-4a31bb0a8268.html
VALPARAISO - Because the new court rule governing the appointment of guardians ad litem is limited to divorce cases, Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber unilaterally could - and did - appoint a guardian ad litem to a guardianship case.

Webber said his appointment of non-attorney Beatrice Lightfoot of Burns Harbor was made with the agreement of the attorneys involved in the case.

In addition, all of the attorneys who had been serving as guardians ad litem have resigned, Webber said Thursday afternoon, and the only guardian ad litem left in the system is Lightfoot.

"The attorneys agreed, and even if they hadn't, the only person I had to appoint was Bea Lightfoot," Webber said.

Valparaiso attorney Gregory Hagan, who represents one of the parties in the guardianship case, said he has not had an opportunity to read the rule, which sets out training, qualification and appointment procedures for guardians ad litem in divorce cases.

"(Judge Webber) asked if I had any objection," Hagan said. Hagan told the judge he had none.

"(Lightfoot's) the perfect person to look at the particular matter in this case," Hagan said.

Still, on Oct. 29, following public criticism of Lightfoot's performance, the six Porter County judges approved their new court rule, the first since 1989.

Besides establishing requirements for guardians ad litem, the court rule prevented judges from making unilateral appointments in divorce cases. The rules call for the court to name a three-person panel from a list of approved guardians ad litem; each party in the divorce case will strike a name from the list and the remaining person will be appointed to the case.

Yet on Nov. 7, nine days after the judges adopted the court rule, Webber appointed a guardian ad litem to a guardianship case, which is not covered by the new requirements.

Thus questions regarding the level of such services to children overall remain.

Also, as the judges feared, the availability of local attorneys to serve as guardians ad litem appears to have suffered as a result of the new rule.

Several contacted by The Times on Friday indicated they anticipated not doing as many cases, if any, primarily because of the elimination of the $75 an hour the county had authorized to pay them for their services.

Also troublesome to some attorneys was the 12-hour training requirement even though the judges hoped to offer free continuing education credits.

As a result, the judges amended the rule Thursday to restore some payment and exempt from the training requirement those attorneys who have served as a guardian ad litem in at least one case in 1995 and 1996.

Porter Circuit Court Judge Raymond Kickbush, the court's presiding judge, said he will limit his control over the issue to seeking the rapid approval of a state rule that will grant free, on-going continuing education credit to attorneys willing to provide the service.

Kickbush said the judges may - and do - act according to majority decision.

The law also provides that the court "shall designate one of the judges as presiding judge and fix the time he shall preside, and said judge shall be responsible for the operation and conduct of the court and for seeing that said court shall efficiently and judicially operate."

Since the judges did not vote on a presiding judge, the position goes to the judge with the most seniority, which is Kickbush, who has been critical of the use of a guardian ad litem in divorce cases.

Kickbush, also the juvenile court judge, is mandated by federal law to appoint a court-appointed special advocate to represent abused and neglected children.

No such federal mandate, however, exists for the appointment of guardians ad litem in divorce cases, which generally are approved by Porter Superior Judges Thomas Webber and Roger Bradford.

Kickbush said while he's not saying he has no concerns about Lightfoot's significant campaign contributions to the court, the judges' practice has been to not interfere in each other's courts.

"We've always operated the court with all six of us as a sort of knights-of-the-roundtable with no one (judge) asserting dominance over the others," Kickbush said. "Everyone operates their court as they see fit. We seldom have any disagreement. It works well."

Taking the lead in seeking the continuing education requirement, as the other judges asked, is his swan song, said Kickbush, who is leaving the bench after nearly 20 years of service.

"I'm planting a seed," Kickbush said, conceding he's aware the new court rule offers no guarantee of improved services nor a remedy to families who believe their cases may have been compromised by the relationship between Webber and Lightfoot.

Webber co-founded with Lightfoot a children's visitation center to which he approves divorce cases under his jurisdiction.

Nationally, appointing a guardian ad litem to represent a child in a troubled family has become popular with the judiciary in recent years as families have been splintering in response to changing cultural and social conditions.

Indiana Code gives powers to a guardian ad litem that surprised even the attorneys attending a two-part continuing education workshop recently held in Crown Point.

The workshop was sponsored by the Lake County Bar Association, Southlake Center for Mental Health and the Valparaiso University School of Law. It offered attorneys 12 hours of free continuing education training in exchange for their agreement to act as a guardian ad litem without charge.

"It's an extremely powerful tool," said Merrillville attorney Don Levinson about the role. "One thing I didn't know at all is that a guardian ad litem has the right to terminate parental rights, and no other body has that power other than the welfare department and possibly the prosecutor's office."

For attorneys who accept the role, Levinson said, the issue can contain a whole array of ethical questions, such as lawyer-client privilege.

"If a child comes to me and says, 'I hate Mommy and want to go live with Daddy, that's lawyer-client privilege for an attorney." But as a guardian ad litem, he could be made to testify to that effect.

Despite such troublesome questions, according to Levinson, the approximately 30 attorneys attending the workshop found the prospect of helping children very appealing.

"These were not just lawyers going for free continuing education credit," Levinson said. "They saw the service to society."

11051996 - News Article - Family House disputes judge

Family House disputes judge
NWI Times
Nov 5, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/family-house-disputes-judge/article_f714ac6a-0042-549f-83d0-19e4815804d2.html
VALPARAISO - Within a month of the opening of the Children/Parent Center, court-appointed guardian ad litem Beatrice Lightfoot attempted to transfer at least four Family House clients to the center she co-founded with Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber.

Sharon Caywood, Family House's board president, said it is that action that led her to ask for a meeting with Webber in November 1995, not a dispute about Family House's hours as portrayed in Webber's public account published Sunday in The Times.

"I have been shocked and very disappointed that Judge Webber had been on the board of Children/Parent Center (CPC) and instrumental in helping them set up a 501C3 (nonprofit organization)," Caywood said Monday after learning of the incorporation by Webber and Lightfoot.

On Monday, Caywood disputed Webber's statement about last fall's meetings with Family House.

Caywood said at least four confused families called Family House last fall, saying they had been transferred to Children/Parent Center by Lightfoot. "They did not want to leave," Caywood said.

Caywood said she called a meeting with Webber during which she asked Webber if he planned to put Family House out of business.

Caywood said Family House was raising funds at the time in order to relocate.

Caywood said she told the judge, "If that's your plan, you need to tell us now."

"There was no answer (from Webber)," Caywood said.

Ultimately two of the families were appointed a guardian ad litem, which was Lightfoot, who then referred them to her own center, according to Caywood.

Ruth Massmann, Family House executive director, said she recalled that of the remaining two cases, one was dismissed and one stayed with Family House.

On Monday, Webber said he authorized Lightfoot to transfer any cases she felt needed to be transferred.

A letter by Webber to Lightfoot dated Oct. 30, 1995 confirms Webber authorized Lightfoot "to use the facility which will best serve the needs of the children and parents."

Caywood said the meeting with Webber followed a meeting Oct. 23, 1995, which was called by Porter Circuit Court Judge Raymond Kickbush, who was concerned about duplication of services.

At that meeting, Caywood said Kickbush and Webber asked Lightfoot how she expected to be paid. Lightfoot replied she was going to bill the county. Both judges explained to Lightfoot that they had a budget allocated only for Family House.

Nevertheless, Family House received several months of billing for clients who were being seen at CPC, Caywood said.

Webber wrote in his response to inquiries from The Times: "Judge Kickbush was requested to arrange a meeting with Family House board of directors. Subsequently, a meeting was held in Judge Kickbush's jury room with the Family House board of directors, their executive director and those interested members of the judiciary. Family House was requested to either change or increase the hours of operation to accommodate the exchange of children on a more flexible schedule. Family House agreed to be a place for the exchanging of children but declined to change or increase their hours of operation to accommodate the dates and times set forth in the court's standard visitation order. A second meeting was held in my office with members of the board of directors of Family House where it was again stressed that a location was needed for parents to exchange children. Family House again indicated that a change of hours of operation was impossible."

"At neither meeting were our hours the main issue or main topic," Caywood said. "We will never turn a family away. Needs are always met at Family House."

On Monday, Webber said the underlying purposes to both meetings were as he outlined in his letter to The Times. "The Family House people were discussing their concerns, and I was discussing my concerns."

11041996 - News Article - Judges try to close loophole

Judges try to close loophole
NWI Times
Nov 4, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/judges-try-to-close-loophole/article_cfe71cd2-f47c-5c3d-9352-fdc735fcaa3d.html
VALPARAISO - Porter County judges are moving to fine-tune the new program for guardians ad litem.

A three-page document establishes guidelines for the appointment, qualifications, duties, administration and implementation of guardian ad litem services.

Among them is the provision that guardians ad litem will receive no compensation, except for expenses subject to court approval.

Porter Circuit Court Judge Raymond Kickbush said the court is working to prevent losing attorneys who may be disenchanted now that they will be asked to provide the service without pay.

Kickbush will seek a change in state court rules that will permit attorneys to earn continuing education credit by acting as a guardian ad litem on a pro bono basis.

Attorneys currently are required to earn 36 hours of continuing education credit every three years.

"What better way for younger lawyers to gain experience than get involved in divorce proceedings and save the counties money?" Kickbush said.

"Unless incentives are there, we're going to lose a lot of lawyers," Kickbush said about the guidelines the court adopted in establishing a guardian ad litem program.

Nevertheless Kickbush said the change "is a good plan for the community in which we live."

"Once we are made aware that a need exists, (the community) will respond," Kickbush said. "I have proof in the CASA (court-appointed special advocate) program."

The CASA program is composed of some 60 volunteers who work with abused and neglected children who come under court jurisdiction. The program is operated by the Youth Service Bureau.

In divorce court, however, only Beatrice Lightfoot of Burns Harbor, a non-attorney, volunteers her services.

Until the county's judges signed a new court rule last week, attorneys were paid out of a court budget if parents were not able to pay for their services.

Even so, there appeared to be less than a dozen attorneys willing to perform the service at an hourly rate of $75 an hour.

If the state rule is approved, Porter Superior Court Judge Nancy Vaidik said the judges are considering a 12-hour continuing education program already in existence in Lake County to entice more attorneys to volunteer.

In considering the local rule approved last week, Vaidik said the judges considered various ways to compensate both attorney and non-attorney guardians ad litem.

A volunteer system was the only plan that seemed both fair to families and economical to the county, according to Vaidik.

With attorneys and non-attorneys randomly named to three-person panels from which each parent may strike a name, it would amount to "the luck of the draw if a person would be paid," according to Vaidik.

"We don't have enough money in the budget to pay for the lawyers' services every time," Vaidik said.

"We ended up with this," she said. "We are worried we might not get attorneys to volunteer for free, so we're talking about building in incentives."

11031996 - News Article - Criticisms prompt new court rules

Criticisms prompt new court rules
NWI Times
Nov 3, 1996
http://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/criticisms-prompt-new-court-rules/article_00b16963-05ef-5e94-a5f4-93214d138711.html
VALPARAISO - Porter Superior Court Judge Thomas Webber helped his court-appointed guardian ad litem, Beatrice Lightfoot, found a children's visitation center.

Incorporation documents filed Oct. 16, 1995 show Webber, Lightfoot and Steven Krieger, now of Michigan, are co-incorporators of the Children-Parent Center in Chesterton, a nonprofit corporation to which Webber in his official judicial duties approves families for supervised visitation, transfers between divorcing parents, and parenting classes.

An annual report received by the state Sept. 24, 1996, names Lightfoot president and Krieger secretary. Webber's name appears as one of nine board members.

On Friday, in a written response to inquiries by The Times, Webber wrote he resigned from the board at its first board meeting. He did not give the date of the meeting.

Lightfoot, the widow of a Portage developer, has been criticized by a citizens' group composed of child advocates and parents led by Helen Boothe of Dune Acres. The group questioned Lightfoot's neutrality and opposed Lightfoot's seeking Porter County dollars to help fund the venture, which they said duplicates services offered by Valparaiso's Family House.

Lightfoot receives no payment for her guardian ad litem services, but has sought reimbursement for the center's visitation services from a monthly stipend earmarked for Family House.

Residents of Lake and LaPorte counties can be charged $30 an hour for supervised visitation and up to $70 for three hours and $20 each additional hour. However, the fees can be adjusted, according to Karen Klein, services manager for Children/Parent Center.

As in Porter and Lake counties, LaPorte county officials say visitation services are billed directly to parents by the agency to which they're referred. A spokeswoman for the Lake County Auditor's office said the county has no record of payments to the Children/Parent Center nor does the office of the court administrator for Lake County Circuit Court.

Klein put the center's visitation caseload in October at 32 Porter County families to Family House's 16. She referred inquiries about Lake and LaPorte county statistics to Lightfoot.

Klein said Lightfoot's caseload as guardian ad litem was approximately 75.

It's unclear how many are active.

Lightfoot has declined requests for an interview. Krieger did not return telephone calls. Webber declined interview requests, but responded to questions from The Times in a four-page narrative.

In the narrative, Webber wrote he knew and respected Lightfoot for her concern for children and agreed to serve as an incorporator because he believed the Children/Parent Center was needed.

The sheriff's investigation
In February, responding to criticism of Lightfoot's performance as a guardian ad litem, Webber requested an investigation by the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

According to Sheriff Larry Dembinski, the investigation was assigned to detective Sgt. Joey Larr by his captain, William Woods, after a conversation between Dembinski and Webber.

Larr submitted his findings to Webber in a report dated June 28. The four-page sheriff's report obtained by The Times concluded Lightfoot made minor errors but did not directly or intentionally commit any wrongdoing.

The report also called for mandatory and expanded training for guardians ad litem and an increase in funding to avoid "their overuse and eventual burnout."

At the time he requested the investigation, Webber said the allegations "went beyond sour grapes."

Webber said he wanted the sheriff to investigate the complaints because of their legal and ethical nature.

Questions about Lightfoot's performance came to the attention of all six of the county's judges through Boothe's intercession.

Boothe's hand-carried letter informed the judges she had obtained information she believed was critical of Lightfoot's performance. The information came to her through "friend of friends over a period of 18 months."

Boothe submitted to the judges a 12-point statement outlining alleged misconduct by Lightfoot, such as presenting to the court false information and "an exaggerated/distorted account of reality."

Boothe also gave the judges a petition she said was signed by at least 35 individuals who opposed funding Children/Parent Center as a duplication of services and questioned the neutrality of Lightfoot referring her own cases to the center.

At the time, Lightfoot said she believed the criticism came from parents who had misdirected their anger at losing custody of their children.

Within days of Webber's calling for the investigation, one of the parents, Kimberly Cole of Chesterton, accompanied by Boothe, went public at a meeting of the Porter County Council, which was hearing a request for funding of the Children/Parent Center.

During a lengthy presentation to the council, Cole questioned whether Lightfoot abused her power.

"Over and over again she has expressed that she has influence over the judicial system," Cole told the council at the time.

Also at the time, Cole was facing two felony battery charges in connection with her ex-husband's allegations she had struck his son by a former marriage.

In May, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charges on the condition there were no related allegations for one year.

Cole became one of the five parents interviewed by Larr during the sheriff's investigation.

"They were all of the strong opinion that Lightfoot did not accurately represent them throughout the court proceedings," Larr wrote in his report.

"They all felt Lightfoot had a tendency to take one side of the story, and never waiver or permit an argument of their opinions."

The parents conveyed "an adamant dislike of ... the court-appointed power and discretion granted Lightfoot," according to the report. They also believed Lightfoot had not been properly trained and felt her reports were confusing and not understandable.

When pressed, however, none of the five could give a specific occasion when Lightfoot had deliberately presented false information, according to Larr's report.

They protested Lightfoot's "private conversations with the judge or magistrate during court and out of earshot of their attorneys," Larr reported.

In researching Lightfoot's reports to the court, Larr said he found minor errors tending to be grammatical or the mistaking of a person's name.

The report said there were occasions when further work by Lightfoot "may have solved a problem or at least given the witness a sense of being equally represented."

Larr described Lightfoot as "a motivated, strongly opinionated, compassionate individual" whose opinions are based on her training as a court-appointed special advocate and "what she feels is best for the children and the parents she is assigned to assist."

Larr found Lightfoot is one of approximately nine county guardians ad litem and the only one who is not an attorney.

All the attorneys are paid out of the court budget, while Lightfoot's services are free, according to Larr. Consequently, Lightfoot received 10 to 12 cases a year versus two or three assigned the attorneys, according to the report.

A review of available court records by The Times confirms Lightfoot is the lone non-attorney and has the greatest number of cases. Out of 33 guardian ad litem appointments made in Webber's court since 1994, Lightfoot received 23.

Larr recommended an expansion of training and funds for guardians ad litem, but made no mention of the $60,000 donated in 1992 by Lightfoot to the court for the establishment of a guardian ad litem program, which has gone unused and earned more than $8,000 in interest according to auditor's records.

Larr declined comment on the investigation, but Woods said Webber told the matter came up at a judges' meeting and the decision was made to ask the department to investigate any foundation to the complaints against Lightfoot.

"It was simply a matter of talking to people who made the complaints to see exactly what the complaints were, and the matter was referred back to the judge," said Woods, Larr's captain.

Woods said the issue was not criminal in nature, and the investigation's results were left to the judges to follow up. He received no follow-up requests, he said.

Several of the involved parents question the thoroughness of the investigation.

"It was a joke," Cole said. "(Larr) called me on the phone and asked me a couple of questions (such as) could I specifically poinpoint anything she lied about in court. I basically believe it was a sweep-under-the-rug type of investigation."

David Stout of Valparaiso said he recalled only one telephone conversation with Larr. "I don't believe it was really checked into."

Another parent went to see Larr at his office. They talked for 30 to 45 minutes, said Betty Wonch of Merrillville.

"There was no investigation," Wonch said. "(Larr) was so eager to get in our file and then he didn't bother to go get it."

"If (parents) have anything to say in criticism of our investigation, they should take it up with the judge who ordered it," Woods said.

"Police catch criminals, they're not a political tool," Woods said, adding he believed Boothe was playing politics and the judiciary was doing everything it could to be fair and to correct problems with guardian ad litem services.

"I consider Mrs. Lightfoot to be qualified to serve as a GAL (guardian ad litem). She had completed the required State of Indiana training and has annually updated the training. Further, she has completed the training to become an instructor of CASA/GAL training. She is a mother and grandmother, is a successful businesswoman and has considerable life experiences. From my observation, she has a sincere concern for children and seeing to their best interests nor is she influenced by political pressure or scurilous, unfounded and unsupported accusations," Webber wrote in his response.

Several judges considered the report a vindication of Lightfoot, and all agreed guardian ad litem services needed improvement.

Circuit Court Judge Raymond Kickbush and officials from the Youth Service Bureau, who operate the CASA (court-appointed special advocate) program in Porter County, have confirmed Lightfoot took the CASA training some years ago.

Kickbush said Lightfoot has not been associated with the CASA program in at least three or four years.

The extent of Lightfoot's training beyond the county's CASA program could not be verified. She has declined requests to be interviewed.

"I'm not sure this investigation was focused in a way that truly addresses the guardian ad litem issues," Judge Harper said at the time. "I don't want to say 'program' because we don't really have one."

Harper also said preliminary draft of a program proposal was being prepared and needed to be followed up by the judges. The new rules were issued Oct. 29.

"I'm glad (Larr) found no wrongdoing whatsoever as was alleged, and we had already been planning to get some specific training for all guardians at litem, be they attorneys or not," Judge Bradford said.

"There's nothing to prevent me from appointing Mrs. Lightfoot as a guardian ad litem," he said.

"I've seen the sheriff's police report and even though nothing appeared to be improper, the court as a whole thinks we need guidelines for the appointment of guardians ad litem," Judge Vaidik said on commenting on the sheriff's report.

"I'm very pleased that the report indicated no indiscretion in the cases involved," said Thode at the time, adding he believed the origin of the problem was legislative. "I do think we need to do more with the guardian ad litem program, and we're headed in that direction."

Judge Kickbush declined comment in reference to the results of the investigation, saying he did not expect to appoint Lightfoot to his court nor use the center she founded. Kickbush's child welfare cases are assigned to a court-appointed special advocate program operated by the Youth Service Bureau. Contributions to the court

Other questions by Lightfoot's critics involve her contributions to the campaigns of four of the county's six judges and a current judicial candidate.

Critics point to the campaign contributions and other donations to the court, such as courthouse metal detectors, as support for their allegations about the influence Lightfoot allegedly has with the courts.

Cole's ex-husband, Todd Cole of Michigan City, recently exercised his option to have their son, Andrew, picked up for his visits with his mother at Children/Parent Center, a move Kimberly Cole protested.

"I don't think it's appropriate since I testified in open court and in public (Lightfoot's) not adequately qualified," Kimberly Cole said.

Cole added she feared Lightfoot's influence. "(Lightfoot's) said she has enough authority she can go to the magistrate if I don't do what she wants."

Most recently, the court approved a new magistrate, guardian ad litem and visitation center in the Cole case.

Campaign disclosure forms show Lightfoot has been the largest individual contributor, by a wide margin, to the campaigns of Webber and Porter Superior Court Judge Nancy Vaidik, both Democrats, and Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode, a Republican.

Webber received $2,000 from Lightfoot for his 1994 run. In 1990, Lightfoot's $1,000 contribution was matched only by Charles Graddick of Gary.

In 1994, Thode's committee reported receiving $3,000 from Lightfoot and $200 from Lightfoot's son, Leif.

Vaidik, meanwhile, received a total of $1,100 from Lightfoot in 1992 and $500 for her 1996 primary.

Lightfoot made a $2,000 contribution to the recent primary campaign of Porter Superior Court Judge Roger Bradford.

There are no recent records showing contributions to retiring Republican Judge Raymond Kickbush or to Republican Porter Superior Court Judge Mary Harper, currently a Circuit Court candidate.

Disclosure forms for her Democratic opponent, Valparaiso attorney Hugo Martz show he has received $2,000 from Lightfoot. "With all contributions, it's made very clear that there are no strings attached," Martz said recently.

"Mrs. Lightfoot contributed to my campaign," Webber wrote. "I do not consider it a conflict of interest that anyone with the CPC (Children/Parent Center) contributed to my campaign," Webber continued. "A great many people contributed to my campaign."

Judges Bradford, Thode and Vaidik have said Lightfoot has not used campaign contributions to influence them.

While Lightfoot has declined to discuss her political contributions, former Porter County Councilman Jack Clem, also a former Portage City Councilman and acquaintance of Lightfoot's, said Lightfoot, the widow of an early Portage developer, never has been active politically.

"She goes to the candidates she wants," Clem said. "There's not a lot of people in either party who really know her," Clem said.

THE NEW RULES
Until jointly filing with the Porter County Clerk a "Guardians Ad Litem Local Rule" on Oct. 29, the six judges appeared divided on the issues surrounding Lightfoot and the center.

The three-page document establishes guidelines for the appointment, qualifications, duties, administration and implementation of guardian ad litem services.

*Appointment of guardians ad litem:
The new court rule includes the naming by the court of a three-person panel from the a list of approved guardians ad litem maintained by the court administrator.

In successive turns, the court administrator will assign three names to a panel until the entire list has been named to a panel.

Once the entire list has been named to panels, the names will be reshuffled, the list recreated and new panels named.

In the event the court determines that a conflict of interest exists with a panel member, the court administrator will appoint the next name to the list.

Within set time periods, each party will strike a name and the remaining guardian ad litem will be court-appointed.

*Qualifications:
Guardians ad litem will be an attorney or non-attorney volunteer who has completed a court-approved training program that is required for a court-appointed special advocate.

Non-attorneys will complete six hours of training. Attorneys will complete 12 hours of training. Both must complete three hours of annual training, submit to a criminal records check and may be removed from the list by the court.

*Administration:
The names of the next available guardian ad litem will remain confidential until a panel has been selected.

The court administrator will maintain files on each guardian ad litem that include: name, address, telephone, qualifications, brief personal history, whether the person is an attorney, and any additional information the guardian ad litem provides.

*Fees:
Guardians ad litem will receive no compensation, but may be entitled to expenses upon approval of the court.

The court will assess a user fee in each case.

An attorney appointed to assist the guardian ad litem, however, will be compensated.

The new court rule, however, does not address any issues surrounding the selection of Children/Parent Center or Family House.

"All the judges have the interest of the children at heart, but see things from slightly different angles, although with a common goal," Harper said in September after reluctantly going public with her misgivings about the potential of shifting funds from Family House to Children/Parent Center .

Harper urged the Porter County Council to leave things as they are after several judges asked the council to have more than $33,000 earmarked for children's visitation services deposited into the general court budget over which all the judges would have control.

The money for years has been in the circuit court budget of Judge Raymond Kickbush, who used it to fund Family House.

The council heeded Harper. "I'm really pleased with the actions the council took. "It's fair and in the best interest of the children," she said at the time.

Harper didn't think the sheriff's investigation "focused on what I know is there. There is room for a great deal of improvement."

Harper said one aspect that would be a focus of a program would be qualifications. "People at Family House are all degreed in nursing or social work or related fields," Harper said. "That would certainly merit consideration in the potential for the guardian ad litem situation."

Klein, manager at Children/Parent Center and the only staff member, said she has a high school education buttressed by 32 years of life and work experiences. She was executive vice president of three businesses belonging to Dr. Philip Kellar in Merrillville, Highland and Hobart. The last of Kellar's medical centers closed in 1992, said Klein, who also did Kellar's property management.

She began working for Family House in October 1993 as office manager and visit supervisor, until joining Children/Parent Center in October 1995.

Klein said she was trained on-site at Family House, doing its bookkeeping and supervising 40 percent of the visitation, and served as interim director for three months while the facility searched for a new director.

She said no therapy is done at either facility. As with Family House, Klein sits with families during their visits, making sure "everyone relates to each other appropriately."