Making a Difference: Guardian ad Litem providing voices for kids
I’ve heard about the Guardian ad Litem program, but until recently knew very little about it. If you’re in the same boat, let’s learn more together.
Guardian ad Litem (GAL) is a state-mandated program dedicated to helping children who’ve been removed from their homes due to abandonment, abuse or neglect. The kids, in these cases, are placed under dependency court supervision and in temporary living situations such as foster homes.
The program gets much needed support from the Guardian ad Litem Foundation 20th Judicial Court, a nonprofit arm which serves Collier and four other counties. And it’s the GAL Foundation we’re focusing on today. They supply trained and certified volunteers and resources to get the job done.
Roxanne Wendling, the foundation’s executive director, makes sure of that. She believes that “every abused child deserves to have someone who will look out for their best interest. These children belong to all of us.”
And we’re talking about 284 children here in Collier County alone, ranging from birth to 18 years of age. The goal is to provide each child needing help with a Guardian ad Litem volunteer. But GAL’s circuit director, Holly Rodriguez, says that’s just not possible because they need more volunteers. “There are 26 children who are currently in the dependency court system with judicial oversight and a case manager but without a GAL volunteer.” Rodriguez adds that “it’s no fun deciding if a particular child is worthy of having a volunteer. Every child should have one.”
Wendling points out that children who have a court-appointed GAL volunteer advocate are much more likely to find a safe, permanent home through reunification with parents, adoption or guardianship. “They’re also more likely to have a consistent, responsible adult presence in their lives, spend less time in foster care and do better in school.”
So who are these volunteers? Volunteer recruiter Donna Kordek says they’re people like you and me with no prior experience in this field. She’s merely looking for “a willingness to dedicate eight to 10 hours each month to helping an abused or neglected child by meeting with them and advocating for them in a court setting.” Kordek adds, “Our mission statement is, ‘I am for the child.’ If that describes you, attending our one-hour orientation is the best way to find out if this is the right opportunity for you.”
Interestingly enough, there are several volunteers on board right now who were children in the program. Wendling explains that “they want to help children who might be going through the same sadness and sense of confusion they once knew.”
Is this program making a difference? The kids being served sure think so. Here’s what some have to say about their volunteers.
“You make my nervousness go away and help me find places to live where people are nice to me,” one child reports.
Another says, “I had five foster homes and was always scared. Miss Donna made things better.”
Another calls his volunteer “the only person I can count on.”
A high school student credits her volunteer with helping with the things that are out of her hands.
A middle school student simply appreciates her volunteer for caring about her.
And a preschooler thanks his volunteer for bringing him donut holes and always making him laugh.
Then there’s the elementary student who appreciates his volunteer but wants his mom: “I wish my mom would love me and I could go back home.”
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or would like to learn more about the organization, visit www.voicesforkids.org. Maybe you’ll choose to lend your voice to a kid who has none.
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Joe Landon is a communications consultant having retired as executive director of communications for the Collier County School District. Please send suggestions for future columns to JoeLandon@Outlook.com.