Wednesday’s editorial:
Serving as a volunteer guardian ad litem, a court-appointed advocate for children, isn’t a role for everyone. For starters, 30 hours of training are required and once appointed it’s extremely time-consuming. “Being a guardian has its rewards, but it has its ups and downs,” says Cheryl Fritz who for three years has been president of the board of Heroes for Children, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports the guardians.
The board’s goals are to provide financial support, public awareness, legislative support and education and training. “They have really helped us … bringing in speakers to train guardians” beyond the basic, and holding appreciation events for the guardians, says “Sam” Hodges, circuit coordinator for guardian ad litems in Horry and Georgetown counties. Seven years ago, when Hodges became the coordinator, Horry County had 30 guardians. Now there are 125 and Hodges says she is “always on the lookout for new guardians … constantly trying to replace” guardians who drop out for one reason or another – and those include finding out that being a guardian is just too much of an emotional drain.
One reason for the steady increase in the number of guardians is the requirement that all children coming into the Department of Social Services must have a volunteer guardian ad litem. Only in rare cases are attorneys appointed. Typically, Horry County guardians have two or three cases. Hodges is planning an evening training class toward the end of January and three other classes, day and night, will be held during the year. Georgetown County has about two dozen active guardians. Guardians are advocates for children in the care of DSS – they are representatives for the children, eyes and ears for the court. They visit children in foster homes or schools, learning the child’s wants and needs.
Beyond training and recognition, “we like to help financially when guardians have a need for a child, such as sports or music programs,” says Patsy Batson, leaving the Heroes for Children board after five years. “With the state budget like it is, it doesn’t look like there will be any extra funds for programs such as guardian ad litem.” Batson has been a guardian in South Carolina since 2000 and previously served as a guardian in Georgia. Fritz and Ken Peterson, both noted locating a donor of a laptop computer for a young man who is recently out of the guardian program and planning to attend Coastal Carolina University. Peterson is the likely successor to Fritz as president of the Heroes for Children board. A president will be elected at the annual meeting Jan. 30 and Peterson is the only name on the ballot.
Peterson, with Batson and Hodges, presented an award last week to the Rotary Club of Little River for the club’s ongoing support of the guardian ad litem program. Usually, the award is presented to an individual during Child Abuse Prevention Month. Batson, who currently is treasurer of Heroes for Children, says the board “would love to have $5,000 or more” as an annual budget. The budget has varied. She says the board is exploring having a mentor program which would pair experienced guardians with new ones.
To help
For information about becoming a guardian ad litem, a court-appointed advocate for children, contact Circuit Coordinator “Sam” Hodges.
Phone | 843-347-9750
Email | shodges@oepp.sc.gov
To learn more about Heroes for Children, a nonprofit support group for guardians, including becoming involved as a board member, visit www.heroesforchildren.com
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