A guardian with a cause

In a cramped downtown office that is easy to overlook are six people and their volunteers whose job often is also under the radar - shepherding abused, abandoned and neglected children through the Florida Dependency Court System.

The Department of Children and Families has taken these kids away from their parents or guardians. Sometimes they are with relatives. Sometimes they are in foster homes.

On top of their precarious situation are their own emotional, physical and health needs that may sometimes get overlooked as the system deals with their parents or guardians. Very often they need attention, more so than other kids, and almost always assurances of love from an adult.

As a judge ponders the child's fate, he or she often relies on the recommendation of neutral third-party "guardians," the Guardian ad Litem volunteers and staff, who work with these children and are their court-appointed advocates.

The six paid workers in the Sebring office, which includes one full-time attorney, help their child clients and guide the volunteers.

Way back early this year Guardian ad Litem had been bracing for a big budget cut by the state Legislature.

The House Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee had recommended slashing a whopping 23-percent of the program's budget. The Senate budget had proposed an 8-percent cut.

Volunteers and program supporters mobilized big-time.

Deborah Moore, program public information officer in Tallahassee, remembered the "full, all-out effort" they made to minimize the proposed cutbacks.

"We rallied together to help legislators understand that that was going to be a monumental cut," she said.

It worked, in a way. The state did cut the program budget but nowhere as close to what had been feared.

As part of the 7.5-percent cutback, which translated into $2.5 million less and a cut in $1 million in non-recurring money, the program will have to lay off 57 positions statewide.

Highlands County's office is not losing any employees, Moore said. While the office has been spared the headaches of budget cuts, the program is always looking to build on its 34-volunteer base, Moore said.

The requirements to be a Guardian ad Litem volunteer are pretty simple, said local volunteer coordinator Lisa Falcon. Those interested have to be over 19 years of age, be without any felony convictions and undergo a 30-hour training session.

Needless to say, it helps to "genuinely care about children."

Evelyn Subklew is one of those.

Before she retired to Highlands County, Subklew worked for DCF in Connecticut.

Working for and with children had been her thing, so being a guardian volunteer was natural for her.

In the last three years she's handled nine cases. Sometimes she spends an hour a month on a case, other times it's more.

In her role as a guardian, she visits the child's daycare or school, makes sure their educational, health and physical needs are being met. She listens to what the child wants or needs and observes the way he or she interacts in the caregiver's home.

Through her observations, she recommends to the dependency judge the best course of action for the child.

"I plead for the best interest of the child," she said. "I am the voice of the child."

Some kids she's worked with have tugged at her heart strings. A "little girl," who is enriched in her memory as the favorite one, wanted to call her grandma several times. Often her children walk up to her when they see her in public or when she's working at Wal-Mart, her part-time employer.

Through the years she's seen battered children, their resilience, their need for love and their love for their parents.

"The love for their mother and father is always there," she said. "Their main goal is to be one family."

In cases where it is possible, Guardian ad Litem recommends reuniting parents with children.

Falcon has seen many cases where parents conquer substance abuse problems through successful intervention programs and stay drug-free.

The program's goal is to resolve a case in nine months. Sometimes, partly due to the court system, cases languish longer, like in the cases being handled by Theresa Carter, who also serves as the office administrative assistant.

The three children under Carter's guardianship may have unresolved situations but Carter's role in their lives has been rewarding and meaningful.

"Being able to help the children, just listening to them because they have been removed from their homes has helped them," she said.

Those interested in volunteering can call Falcon at 402-6969.

She said that all sorts of volunteer opportunities are available, even for those who don't see themselves as guardians but would instead like to help out in other areas.

A training workshop is coming up soon. The two-day session will be held Thursday, July 30 from 5:30 to 8:45 p.m. and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1.