Eight hours a month doesn’t sound like much, but it could make all the difference in the life of a child.
Eight hours is what most Guardian ad Litem volunteers can expect to spend in their advocacy role for young people who are involved in the court system because of abuse or neglect.
Ruth Griffin, recruitment and retention lead for the statewide GAL program based in Raleigh, said there are roughly 3,200 volunteers in North Carolina, but there’s always a need for more.
In Vance County, for example, there are 77 children in care, but 21 do not have an advocate, Griffin said on Wednesday’s TownTalk.
Of 23 in Granville County, three are without advocates at this time.
“We have some awesome, awesome volunteers who are active in other cases,” Griffin said, “but we want more folks from the community to step up and to speak up for these kids in court – our goal being that every child should have an advocate.”
There is some training involved with becoming a guardian ad litem volunteer, and the winter training sessions begin Tuesday, Jan. 21. The virtual sessions will be held on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. through Feb. 25. Apply at volunteerforgal.org.
As Griffin explained, it is a district court judge who begins the process of involving the Guardian ad Litem program when there’s a case of abuse or neglect of a child. A local advocate will be assigned and that person begins gathering information from adults in the child’s life – parents, teachers, physicians, etc. With support from an attorney and from GAL staff, the advocate creates a report with recommendations for what’s best for the child going forward.
For some children, their GAL advocate is the only constant in their lives. Social workers change, foster homes change, but a GAL advocate can remain with a child to provide emotional support as the case moves through the courts.
Advocates can visit with the children in familiar settings like their foster home or school, said Sarah Sattelberg, an advocacy specialist who works in the Raleigh office. “You’re never meeting them alone,” Sattelberg said.
Griffin said most of the cases that are referred to GAL involve neglect, but every case and every child is different. Some could be “situations that the average person just can’t imagine,” she said. “Oftentimes, we are meeting these kids at their worst moment.” The goal is to advocate for the best interests of the child as he or she moves through the court system.
Aside from the specific training that all advocates must complete, there’s no special background or expertise needed to become an advocate.
“You just have to have a heart to care,” Griffin said. “If you have that, you can begin to change a child’s life.”
Samantha Branch is the local contact for the Judicial District 11, which includes, Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Person counties. Below are the addresses and phone numbers for the offices in the WIZS listening area:
Vance County
156 Church St., Henderson, NC 27536
252.430.5121
Granville County
147 Williamsboro St., Oxford, NC 27565
919.690.4921
Warren County
113 S. Main St., Louisburg, NC 27549
919.497.4244
Franklin County
113 S. Main St., Louisburg, NC 27549
919.497.4244
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