1. (1) The superior court of each county shall develop and maintain a registry of persons who are willing and qualified to serve as guardians ad litem and visitors in guardianship and conservatorship matters. The court shall choose as guardian ad litem or visitor a person whose name appears on the registry in a system of consistent rotation, except in extraordinary circumstances such as the need for particular expertise. The court shall develop procedures for periodic review of the persons on the registry and for probation, suspension, or removal of persons on the registry for failure to perform properly their duties as guardian ad litem or visitor. In the event the court does not select the person next on the list, it shall include in the order of appointment a written reason for its decision.

2. (2) To be eligible for the registry a person shall:

   1. (a) Present a written statement outlining his or her background and qualifications. The background statement shall include, but is not limited to, the following information:

      1. (i) Level of formal education;
      2. (ii) Training related to the duties of a guardian ad litem or visitor;
      3. (iii) Number of years' experience as a guardian ad litem or visitor;
      4. (iv) Number of appointments as a guardian ad litem or visitor and the county or counties of appointment;
      5. (v) Criminal history, as defined in RCW 9.94A.030; and
      6. (vi) Evidence of the person's knowledge, training, and experience in each of the following: Needs of impaired elderly people, physical disabilities, mental illness, developmental disabilities, and other areas relevant to the needs of persons subject to guardianship or conservatorship, legal procedure, and the requirements of this chapter. The written statement of qualifications shall include the names of any counties in which the person was removed from a guardian ad litem or visitor registry pursuant to a grievance action, and the name of the court and the cause number of any case in which the court has removed the person for cause; and
   2. (b) Complete the training as described in subsection (5) of this section. The training is not applicable to guardians ad litem appointed pursuant to special proceeding rule 98.16W.
3. (3) The superior court shall remove any person from the guardian ad litem or visitor registry who misrepresents his or her qualifications pursuant to a grievance procedure established by the court.
4. (4) The background and qualification information shall be updated annually.
5. (5) The department of social and health services shall convene an advisory group to develop a model lay guardian, guardian ad litem, and visitor training program and shall update the program biennially. The advisory group shall consist of representatives from consumer, advocacy, and professional groups knowledgeable in developmental disabilities, neurological impairment, physical disabilities, mental illness, domestic violence, aging, legal, court administration, the Washington state bar association, and other interested parties.
6. (6) The superior court shall require utilization of the model program developed by the advisory group as described in subsection (5) of this section to assure that candidates applying for registration as a qualified guardian ad litem or visitor shall have satisfactorily completed training to attain these essential minimum qualifications to act as guardian ad litem or visitor.

[ 2019 c 437 s 131.]