By Michelle Ruschman
One of the greatest gifts you can give to a child is the knowledge they have someone on their side. Carita Smith, Volunteer Recruiter, for the Florida Guardian ad Litem, is on a mission to ensure that local children who find themselves displaced from their homes know there is someone they can still count on to advocate for their best interests. In our area, there should be 136 volunteers. There are currently only 43.
The Guardian ad Litem is made up of a three-pronged system that becomes part of a child’s team when a judge rules they need to be sheltered, or removed from the home. One part of Guardian ad Litem is the Case Advocacy Manager, who maintains the level of care from the office and supports the volunteers to ensure they can advocate effectively. These managers are on staff along with the child’s Best Interest Attorney to make sure the team is running smoothly. At the center of the trio, is the Volunteer Child Advocate. It is this volunteer who visits the children to make sure their needs are being met. If they find the children are in need they report back to the Case Advocacy Manager and the attorney to see if services can be put in place. They are the thread that connects the child to the judge and all other agencies that work with the court. Their sole mission is to take care of the child. It is this Volunteer Child Advocate position that Carita is working hard to fill and it is mission-critical.
“We work alongside any agency that’s in contact with that child,” Carita said.” If the child is in foster care, we visit with them at least once a month, but our volunteers usually go more often. We talk to the child, make sure they’re getting what they need, and ask how they feel. We want to make sure their innermost person is taken care of.
“We also talk with the foster parent to get a sense of how the child is behaving and what their day looks like,” she continued. “If the child has interactions with their parents, we want to know how they responded to the visitation so we can keep an eye out for any triggers. If they’re visiting with a parent twice a week for 30 minutes to an hour, how’s that child’s behavior when they come back? There are a lot of variables that go into a visit like how the visits are maintained and observing how the child feels after these visits. What we observe then becomes information that we provide to the court.”
Due to the shortage of volunteers, Case Managers often have to fill the additional role of the Child Advocate Volunteer, which is far from ideal. Carita shares the steps to becoming a CAV.
“There’s a three-phase training process,” she said. “The first phase is talking with me, submitting your application, and having your fingerprints taken at no cost to the volunteer. You must also pass a level two background screening because of the confidentiality that is required and the places you’re going to. You’re part of the court system and officially taking care of the needs of a child on the state level. Have a clean background.
“Phase two is the classroom portion which is 30 hours, so you do get a lot of training before you get started. Volunteers can choose to do it all online or in two parts by doing the majority online and then coming to a one-day class from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“Phase three is the most important because it’s when you go out and do the work,” Carita said. “This is when you’re visiting with a child, going to court, seeing how the parents react, and seeing how the judges behave. Just going into court can be scary but when you just observe and start building an understanding of what people are doing, then it becomes easier. You understand that you’re just putting down on paper what you observed and passing it onto someone else. You understand your role in the process of helping these children.”
So who would make the ideal volunteer?
“Someone who loves children,” Carita said. “You have to want to see children get beyond traumatic situations. Children remember what’s happened to them so you have to be patient. Be confident in your abilities so you can ask critical questions.”
Carita stresses that once someone becomes a volunteer, they have plenty of support from the case manager and attorney on their team. In addition to their immediate team, there are also mentors who have been in the position for multiple years, and events are put together so volunteers can be together and make a connection.
As for community support, Carita asks that you contact her to speak about Guardian ad Litem to your churches, small groups, networking groups, businesses, classrooms, etc. She will talk to any group that can help grow the volunteer base.
If you’re interested in talking to Carita about being a Child Advocate Volunteer or would like to book a speaking engagement, call (850) 461-3877 or email carita.smith@gal.fl.gov.
