Two Tales From Florida's Foster Care - from the Orlando Sentinel's "Fixing Foster Care" Special Report

One story is tragic:                      
           Can death of a young man save future kids in Florida's foster care?

    In the last photo ever taken of him alive, Regis Little is a handsome teen, his head cocked back confidently, a bemused smile across his lips. A faint patch of young beard curls from his chin.

 

Frozen in that moment, he looks invincible.
In reality, the 18-year-old product of Florida's foster-care system was tragically vulnerable.

One night last July, several months after he had aged out of the system, he was found stabbed in a parking lot off International Drive, a crowd of spectators gathered around his body. By the time paramedics arrived, Regis Little was dead.
Continue with story:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-foster-care-freefall-regis-20100413,0,7939142.story


The other is inspiring.       
Former foster child travels Road to Independence                             

When Kamesha Grant turned 18 in November, she packed a suitcase, left her home in St. Cloud, climbed aboard a bus alone and headed for a new life. As a foster child, it was time to move on.

That's the way the system typically works in Florida. But it's not just a shove out the door. In Grant's case, there was something better ahead.
Taking advantage of the state's Road to Independence program available to teens transitioning out of foster care, Grant already had lined up a place to rent, a $1,000 monthly stipend, training in financial matters and life skills, and a detailed plan for her future.

When local child-welfare advocates want an example of how things can go right, Grant often becomes Exhibit A. She is bright, personable and exceedingly polite, and she did something almost unheard of in Department of Children and Families history: She actually asked to go back into foster care.
"Kamesha gets a lot of the credit for being where she is," said Bethanie Barber, her guardian ad litem, the court-appointed attorney charged with advocating for Grant's best interests. "She is very, very savvy, she has incredible internal motivation and she was absolutely receptive to everything we put in front of her."
Continue story - http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-foster-care-freefall-kamesha-20100419,0,2535312.story

Guardians Ad Litem Provide a Voice for Children

An Orlando Sentinel article on how Guardian Ad Litems help abused and neglected children

Murray McMahon could be at a driving range, peppering a distant flagstick with golf balls.

Instead, the retired Westinghouse engineer aims for a more important target with his free time: protecting children. McMahon, 79, of Yalaha devotes five hours a week, often more, to his duties as a guardian ad litem, a court-appointed volunteer entrusted with looking out for the best interest of an abused or neglected child.

"A child needs a voice in court," said McMahon, whose wife, Marilyn, also serves as a guardian for endangered children in Lake County. "We're the only one in the court who's there just to speak for the child. Everybody else there has their own interest, everybody else there has a lawyer to speak for them – mom, dad, DCF [state Department of Children and Families]."

Florida's guardian ad litem program, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary Tuesday, depends on trained volunteers who are supposed to act as independent investigators and advocates for children. State law requires that every child in foster care be provided with an advocate. But the program has its critics.

"It should be abolished," said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, a nonprofit watchdog organization that monitors the nation's many child-welfare systems. "A child's voice in court is not the GAL's [guardian ad litem's] voice."
Wexler said the volunteers, who are overwhelmingly white and middle class, may be well-meaning, but often bring with them an inherent racial and class bias that fails to serve families who are disproportionately poor and minority.

Continue story:  http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/law/os-law-and-you-and-guardians-20100322,0,4194381.story?page=1

To learn how to become a Guardian Ad Litem in Florida: 
http://www.guardianadlitem.org/

Want to Know What It's Like to Be a Foster Child?

Read Ashely Rhodes-Courter's memoir, Three Little Words.

Florida fails to protect kids' rights in court, advocates say

An article from the Orlando Sentinel by Kate Santich:

Florida gets an F for its failure to protect the legal rights of abused and neglected children, according to a ranking released Thursday by two national child-advocacy organizations. The chief criticism: Even though Florida law requires that a guardian ad litem be appointed for every kid who ends up in the child-welfare system, the guardian may be only a volunteer and not an attorney." Volunteers can't file motions, can't make objections; they can't request discovery; they can't cross-examine; they can't depose," said Amy Harfeld, executive director of the nonprofit organization First Star, one of the authors of the state-by-state report, along with the California-based Children's Advocacy Institute. "And even when children do have counsel, there's no requirement that the counsel stay on through the appellate process."

Despite the fact that most states do provide attorneys for children who have been removed from their homes, the issue has been contentious in Florida, where opponents say there is not enough money to cover the statewide Guardian ad Litem program as it is. That office has lost $5 million in state funding during the past two years and has had to prioritize which children are represented by guardians. As a result, about 5,100 Florida children were not appointed a guardian last year, as the law requires. The latest report — which flunked six other states in addition to Florida — argues that children in state custody have as much at stake as defendants in criminal proceedings, for whom the Constitution requires an attorney. Dependency courts can determine where children live, go to school, what medications they're given, and whether they ever get to see their parents or brothers and sisters.

Several messages left at the state's Guardian ad Litem program office went unanswered. But its 2009 annual report noted: "Last year, the Guardian ad Litem program spent $397,468 of its budget to provide attorney ad litem representation for dependent children. Though the program would like to be able to contract with attorneys to represent the child's legal interests in all cases where appropriate, current funding does not allow this."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-lockid-atty-101609101609oct16,0,5846487.story

Seminole County in Desperate Need of Guardian Ad Litem Volunteers!

From the Seminole Chronicle -

Guardian program low on help after state cuts
By Abraham AborayaAugust 19, 2009

SEMINOLE COUNTY - The volunteer organization that represents abused, neglected or abandoned children in court is looking for more volunteers in the county.
The Guardian ad Litem program emerged from the state's budget cycle with a $2.81 million cut, which, while significant, was far less than the Florida House of Representative's proposed $7.6 million.
But the cuts caused a shift in volunteers, leaving a hole that needs to be filled with 80 volunteers in total, and 40 for a training session that starts in October.
"We really need volunteers for the program desperately," said Patricia Williams, the recruiter for the guardian program. "We could easily use another 50 or 75 volunteers (in Seminole County alone). Our state government was very good and gave us as minimal a cut as possible."
A Guardian ad Litem is a person appointed by the court to represent the interests of a single person. In Florida, the guardians can sometimes be the voice of a group of children pulled from a home during an abuse, abandonment or neglect case.
The guardian takes the time to get to know what the child's interests are, and often interviews the family of the children, as well as doctors, educators and anyone else that touches the child's life.
Volunteers get about 30 hours of training before they begin work. In Florida, to volunteer you need to be 19 years old, not have a felony record and be able to produce references.
"We need someone who cares about children, who has a little bit of time, only about 10 hours a month, and the big one is the common sense requirement," Williams said. "So you have the state's requirements and then you have [my] requirements."
Statewide, as of June, there are 31,000 kids under court supervision, and 26,800 are represented by a Guardian ad Litem. In Seminole County as of July 1, there were 440 children needing guardians, and 145 volunteers in the program.
The program got a $3.8 million cut, although the cut was dampened this year by a $1 million, non-recurring boost. That means that there will be an additional $1 million coming from the budget the following year.
The cuts ultimately led to 50 positions lost statewide. Less staff means the program is depending more now on volunteers to fill in the gap.
"That was the result, unfortunately," said Deborah Moore, the public information officer for the guardian program. "It wasn't as severe as we thought it would be. We were concerned that it was going to be a much larger cut."
Williams knows first hand about the volunteering. She started working for the guardian program six years ago in Brevard County as a volunteer.
"It just was an eye-opening realization that that was going on in my own area, and I was totally unaware," Williams said. "I never had any idea the extent of what the situation is for our children.
"And it's a wonderful opportunity. It's life changing for the children. You get to improve that child's life. How many volunteer opportunities can you have that effect on generations to come?"
Valentina Jolta, 29, of Casselberry, became certified as a Guardian ad Litem in 2004 while she was getting her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. A representative from the program spoke during one of her psychology classes.
"Just hearing the need to find safe, permanent homes and knowing that I could make a difference really attracted me to the volunteer opportunity," Jolta said.
Jolta said volunteering as a guardian has been very rewarding for her.
"I would recommend it to anyone who desires to help children, that wants to make a difference," Jolta said. "I would advocate for anyone in college to have this experience, or anyone who has an interest in law, or anyone who has the love and support able to give to a child. It's a unique opportunity, and it's a very professional program.
"I just think it's a very rewarding experience. It gives a lot of personal satisfaction."
Jolta, a certified school psychologist who is employed as an educational liaison, said that working with abused children can take an emotional toll, especially if you get attached.
"I think just knowing you're making a difference is helpful, and I'm very positive," she said. "I don't think it's ever affected me negatively."

http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2009/08/19/4a8c6afa9c107

The Importance of the Threatened Guardian ad Litem Program from Judges' Perspective

This is an editorial published in the Orlando Sentinel written by two Florida judges -

Statewide, the Guardian ad Litem Program ensures that the voices of some 27,000 abused, abandoned and neglected children in our state are heard and not forgotten. But the voices of those children may soon be lost if the 23 percent cut suggested by the Florida House is finalized. The Department of Children and Families, for example, had to remove twins 'Jane' and 'John' from their drug-addicted mother for extreme neglect because she frequently left them alone while prostituting. The judge gave the mother a case plan and an opportunity to attempt to get clean. The court appointed a volunteer guardian ad litem to keep in touch with the children and report on their best interests. The guardian made frequent visits to the children at their various foster homes over the next three years as the mother beat her drug addiction, got the kids back and then relapsed. During that time, judges rotated through the courtroom, DCF case managers came and went, and Jane and John went to different homes. No one in the system except the guardian ad litem knew these children. The guardian could tell their story and convince the new judge it was time for an adoptive family. Kids without guardians are often not so lucky. Now the Legislature is considering a $7.6 million dollar cut to the program statewide that would eliminate the positions of 150 paid employees who support the guardian volunteers that children rely on to safeguard their interests. In Orange County, the staff of the Guardian ad Litem Program supports approximately 400 lay and attorney volunteers who donate their time to be a voice for children in the courtroom. These volunteers rely on the staff to give them the tools they need to advocate for children. If passed, the budget reduction would force the program to substantially reduce the indispensable support system that volunteers rely on. Not only would this be a tremendous loss for the children, but it would create a gaping hole in the judicial process. Judges are charged with making life and death decisions for these children, and in making these decisions they can't afford to lose their voices in making those decisions. If guardians are lost, the judges will no longer hear from these totally independent advocates whose only purpose in the courtroom is to give judges information on what is in the best interest of the children. Judges rely on guardians to help them make sure the children don't get lost in the system.The Legislature has said every child should have a guardian, but there has never been enough funding to provide that. By drastically cutting funds to an already underfunded mandate, we move backward in our effort to protect the children of Florida.

Maura Smith and Daniel Dawson are circuit judges in Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpmyword26smith042609apr26,0,6604381.column

Speak Out in Support of Florida's Guardian ad Litem Program

Guardian ad Litems are court-appointed child advocates for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. GALs fight for children to get the services they need, they push the system to get children into safe, permanent homes faster, and they provide independent information to the court and advocate for child-focused decisions. Without a GAL the children navigate the system without an independent advocate of their own.

The GAL program is in serious jeopardy due to state budget cuts. Current budget proposals reduce GAL funding by $7.6 million, meaning that over 5,700 abused and neglected children will have no one to represent their best interests in dependency proceedings. Please contact the legislatures in Tallahassee and let them know that this is unacceptable. Here is a link with some talking points to help you with your phone calls/emails - http://www.flgal.org/TP-Conference-041509.pdf. More information can be found at the Florida Guardian ad Litem Foundation site at http://www.flgal.org/index.php.

Guardian Ad Litem program in Jeopardy due to Budget Cuts

Darryl E. Owens of the Orlando Sentinel tells how children will be the ones to lose as a result of state budget cuts.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-owens-041109,0,881728.column