OH · rules

Ohio Sup.R. 8.04

Pre-Service Education

activein force · 2022-07-01 – presentact-effective-date

(A) Pre-service education required for appointment

A guardian ad litem shall complete pre-service education provided by the Supreme Court,

the Ohio Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Guardian ad Litem Association, or

with the approval of the appointing court, another provider.

(B) Pre-service education hours and topics

(1) Pre-service education for guardians ad litem shall be twelve hours.

(2) Of the twelve hours of pre-service education, six hours shall be obtained via a live

education program.

(3) The remaining six hours of pre-service education may be satisfied by online or live

education, teaching, writing, mentoring, or field- training activities with approval

by the appointing court.

(4) Six hours of pre-service education shall include training on all the following topics:

(a) Basic human needs, stages of child development, and the impact of

trauma;

(b) Communication skills, including but not limited to communication

with children and adults, interviewing skills, methods of critical

questioning, use of open- ended questions, understanding the

perspective of a child, sensitivity, building trust, multicultur al

awareness, diversity, and confidentiality;

assessing risk and safety;

(d) Family and child issues, including but not limited to family

dynamics, substance abuse and its effects, basic psychopathology

for adults and children, and domestic violence and its effects,

including assessing for lethality and safety;

(e) Legal processes, available community agencies and resources,

methods of service, records checks, the role of a guardian ad litem

in court, local resources and service practice, report content,

mediation, and other types of dispute resolution processes;

(f) Any other topic that concerns the role of the guardian ad litem to

help determine the best interest of the child.

An individual who is currently serving as a guardian ad litem on January 1, 2021, shall be

deemed compliant with the pre-service education and not be required to complete the

twelve hours of pre-service education.

History

Effective Date: January 1, 2021 Amended: July 1, 2022 Commentary (July 1, 2026) Rule 48.04 was renumbered to Rule 8.04 as part of the 2026 restructuring of the Rules of Superintendence.

Provenance

Source: supremecourt.ohio.gov
Retrieved: 2026-09-14
Edition: 2026-09-14
Content hash: 2b4b64af12fff4b5213d58c1ea1d67d0b19157def21340988118c371a921c0ea

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