ABSTRACT
Since 27 May 1984 there has been provision for a guardian to be appointed to represent the child. The appointment is considered necessary when there appears to be a conflict of interest between child and parent. The main task of the guardian in care proceedings is to act as the child's representative, and therefore to define and defend what he considers to be the child's interests. The guardian is clearly to stay; but it is interesting to see how the criteria for making the appointment have altered since the original provisions were made. The task which the guardian carries out is a mixture of analysis, investigation and indirect advocacy. Maggie Fogarty, in an informative article in Social Work Today traces the contest of professional power which characterised the early stages of the g.a.l. debate. In practice, guardians ad litem are usually social workers - or people with social work experience.
