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The Tallahassee Democrat
By Jordan Culver | The Tallahassee Democrat honored its 2013 Volunteers of the Year Thursday afternoon during a cermony in a packed University Center Club at Florida State University.
Categories included arts, business and government agancies, civic services, education, nonprofit organizations, religion and social services and youth. The Jeferson Award for Public Service honoree was then chosen from the winners of those categories.
Jan Watford, who volunteers with Leon County's guardian ad litem program, was chosen as the Civic Services Volunteer of the Year and was also this year's Jefferson Award winner. She will travel to Washington to complete in the national competition.
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“I am pleased to provide you with the Statewide Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program’s 2013 Status Report, entitled, A Voice Heard: Building Trust and Hope, outlines the benefits of legislation passed in the 2012 session to allow GAL volunteers to transport the children they represent. I have also sent it to our volunteer contact list.
As you will see from reading the report, this legislation has opened communication and opportunities for children consistent with the intent of the law; children are bonding with their GALs and opening up to them in ways that promote their growth and development. Guardian ad Litem volunteers are unanimously positive about the value of the transportation option, and the impact it makes on their ability to represent the best interests of children.
Thank each of you for what do for children. Your dedication inspires so many. I value your commitment to the children we serve.”
--Alan Abramowitz, Executive Director
To read the 2013 report, go to: "A Voice Heard: Building Trust and Hope"
To view the 2012 report, go to: "A Voice Heard"
WHEREAS, the Guardian ad Litem Program's sole mission is to represent the best interests of
abused and neglected children involved in dependency court proceedings; and
WHEREAS the Guardian ad Litem Program currently oversees a growing population of more than
8,200 dedicated and talented volunteers; and...
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The Florida Guardian ad Litem Foundation will celebrate its annual Guardian ad Litem Day on April 4, 2013, with a reception honoring Guardians ad Litem across Florida at the 1st District Court of Appeals, 2000 Drayton Dr., Tallahassee, from 4-6 PM. The event is free and open to the public.
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Hundreds of children are under court supervision in Lake County.
Most of these 423 children have been abandoned or removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect, and placed with relatives, foster parents or in group homes.
To ensure children like these are heard within the state's child protection bureaucracy, the state requires that the courts appoint each one a guardian ad litem, an independent advocate.
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Alan F. Abramowitz, Executive Director of the Statewide Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Office, announced today that Jessica Allen, currently the Supervising Attorney for the GAL Program in Miami-Dade County, will assume responsibilities of Circuit Director for the 11th Judicial Circuit effective January 28, 2013.
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As the executive director of the statewide
Guardian ad Litem Program, I talk to many children and teenagers
who live in foster and group homes. These conversations
often center around their complaints about a lack of a normal
life.
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The author explains how the Florida Guardian
ad Litem Program is assessing the program’s overall effectiveness
and quantifying the influence that GAL volunteers can have on improving
child welfare outcomes using a guardian ad litem scorecard.
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Palm Beach County attorney Kristen Solomon this
week was appointed Circuit Director of the Guardian ad Litem Program
in the 15th Judicial Circuit, which covers Palm Beach County. Solomon,
who has been serving as interim circuit director since July, previously
served as supervising attorney for the program, which pairs volunteer
guardians with children currently in the court system. Statewide,
the GAL program recruits more than 8,000 volunteers to advocate
for children in the dependency court system. As circuit director,
Solomon will lead a program that works with more than 1,000 children
and over 400 volunteer child advocates. Solomon began as a volunteer
with the Guardian ad Litem program when she was still in law school
in Jacksonville. After graduating, she continued volunteering with
the program and was named “Rookie of the Year” for her
work with the 4th Judicial Circuit in the Jacksonville area. In
2008, she was hired as a program attorney in Palm Beach County,
and eventually worked her way up to supervising attorney. Solomon
earned degrees is psychology and criminology from the University
of Florida, and later received a law degree from Florida Coastal
School of Law in Jacksonville. She and her husband, attorney Ferris
Solomon, have one daughter, and live in Jupiter.
To become a
GAL volunteer, call (561) 355-6224 or (866) 341-1425.
TAMPA — Pat Provance tapped on a screen
porch lined with black metal bars. She ran a hand over her close-cropped
gray hair, smoothed her tennis skirt. Provance peered in a dark
living room...
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TCPalm
TCPalm By Editorial Board TAKE ME OUT
TO THE BALLGAME: Among new laws that took effect in Florida on July
1 was Senate Bill 1960, which allows Guardian ad Litem ...
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The Ledger
By Eric Pera LAKELAND | A new law
is seen as a boon to recruitment and retention of Florida's Guardian
Ad Litem program, which provides paid and volunteer ...
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Face to Face interview with Beth Switzer discussing
the volunteer child advocates with Alan Abramowitz, Executive Director,
Florida Guardian ad Litem Program
The purpose of allowing Guardian ad Litem (GAL)
volunteer child advocates to transport children in foster care is
to promote social, extracurricular and enrichment activities for
children; and to foster communication and relationships which in
turn enhances child safety by facilitating trust between the volunteer
and child. Participation is on a voluntary basis. These guidelines
clarify who may transport, pre-qualifying conditions that must be
met by the volunteer, and the process required to gain final authorization.
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The Guardian ad Litem Program thanks the many
GAL volunteer child advocates and staff who supported the Program’s
Transportation Project. The circuits and volunteers who participated
in the project are true trailblazers for Florida’s dependent
children. Started in June 2011, the project empowers GAL volunteers
by giving them another tool to utilize in advocating for and protecting
children. The project clearly exceeded every expectation the Program
had for it.
Read entire article.
The Florida Guardian ad Litem Program is very
happy to release the “A Voice Heard” Initiative to you.
The "A Voice Heard" Initiative, provides the opportunity to listen
to the voices of some of Florida’s abused, abandoned and neglected
children as they talk about the tireless work of their Guardian
ad Litem volunteer (GAL) and the important role their GAL plays
in their life. You will hear that GALs represent so much more to
a child than just being their court advocate. The GAL often becomes
a role model, a mentor, an educational surrogate, a friend, a confidant
and, most importantly, a consistent caring person on whom they can
rely. The children will tell you, in their own words, how their
GAL talks with them and cares about them. Listening to these voices,
you will hear about the ways in which GALs have been able to meet
children’s needs, wishes, and expectations. GALs ensure that
these children have a birthday party, have a Christmas gift to open
on Christmas morning, or visit their family and friends. Listening
to these voices, you will hear that Florida is fortunate to have
the Guardian ad Litem Program which ensures children have someone
who listens to them and volunteer child advocates who are committed
to working on behalf of our most vulnerable children.
"This important Report lifts up the voices of foster children.
In their own words, they remind us of the importance of compassionate,
caring and consistent adults in the lives of our youth." -
Michael Piraino, CEO at National CASA.
Read entire article.
Members of the child welfare community listen
to CASA volunteer Richard Cadogan because they know he represents
a child’s best shot at a safe, permanent home.
Read about Cadogan's work with abused children
A great initiative that the Palm Beach County
Courts are doing: Therapy dogs in the courtroom. Palm Beach is using
therapy dogs in their courtrooms to help make the children feel
at ease and comfortable while they attend court. Click on the link
to watch this inspiring news story.
CBS 12 News and Forever Family talk about how
to become a Guardian ad Litem and how to find a Forever Home for
these children. Please click on the link to watch.
A thank you letter from Comcast Cable to Alan
Abramowitz, and a link to a video of the interview Alan had during
"Childrens Week" at the Capitol.
Read entire letter.
GAL Day was February 9, 2012. We had some dynamic
speakers for our event and got some really good shots at our luncheon.
Here are some of those pictures...
View photos from the event!
The most important job we have in child welfare
is to protect a young person's opportunity to have a healthy, normal
childhood...
Read entire article.
The Statewide Guardian ad Litem Foundation will
host a news conference for a statewide initiative to kick off a
strategic campaign to recruit 10,000 child advocates for abused,
abandoned, and neglected children.
Read entire article.
View photos from the event!
When Alan Abramowitz made his budget request
at the Legislature, he brought a cardboard cutout of a child to
keep the focus where it belongs. “It’s a human rights
issue that children be treated with dignity and that their voices
are heard,” said Abramowitz, executive director of the Florida
Guardian ad Litem Program. He’s asking for $3.9 million in
FY 2012-13 to hire 64 additional staff positions needed to fully
support the work of an additional 1,650 volunteers to provide “best
interest” advocacy for 3,367 more children in dependency court —
from the current 21,497 to 24,864.
Read entire article.
The child I am for is special. She is the little
girl who has already suffered in an abusive home, enters the foster
care system, and is placed in three or four different homes and
schools within just a few months. He is the little boy who witnessed
a terrible assault on one of his parents. They are the brother and
sister whose mother has just been sentenced to prison and who have
been split up and reside in different counties. Thankfully, most
people do not know these children. I do. As I write this, there
are hundreds of them in Leon and the adjacent counties. I know them
all. Read
entire article that was published in the Tallahassee Democrat on
October 28, 2011.
The inaugural Guardian Toy Motorcycle Run will
take place Nov. 19 in Riverview and Brandon. Toys collected will
help court-appointed guardians provide Christmas gifts for the children
they serve.
Click here for more information!
The Superhero Run is a family friendly race that
invites runners of all ages to come out and enjoy this 5k! Whether
you’re a local business, family from the Central Florida area,
UCF student or a serious runner, the Superhero 5k is for you! All
proceeds from the event will benefit Seminole County Guardian Ad
Litem. The first Kappa Alpha Theta and Guardian Ad Litem Superhero
Run will be held on Saturday, November 5th, 2011 at Memory Mall,
on the University Of Central Florida campus.
Click here for more information!
Transportation Policy (PDF document)
Join us for Guardian ad Litem Day - March 23, 2011
Read the
Florida Bar News article introducing Alan Abramowitz as the
GAL Program's new Executive Director!
Governor Charlie Crist appointed Alan Abramowitz
of Tallahassee as Executive Director of the Statewide Guardian ad
Litem Office, to succeed Theresa Flury, for a term beginning December
28, 2010, and ending December 8, 2013.
Visit our Blog for More News!
Florida Guardian ad Litem 2011 Annual Report
GAL Program Attorney Standards - September 2010
Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office, Guardian ad Litem Standards
of Operation - Effective March 1, 2006
Click Here to
View Archived News From 2008
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