New program gives children a voice in court

By BILL RICHMOND

City editor

A new program, Children's Advocates of Randolph County was recently established to represent children involved in local court cases. It is the county's first state certified children's advocate program.

Final certification was received June 6.

Circuit Court Judge Jay Toney said a 2005 change in the law required that every child involved in court actions have a court appointed advocate or guardian ad litem to represent their interests. He said court officials decided the best way to establish a local program to satisfy the new legislation would be with a state affiliated program. A state program would be able to use specialized services available to certified programs.

"The two main advantages of becoming certified with the state are," Toney said, "Training that is available for children's advocates through the state gives volunteers ideas of where to look and how to find out the information they need to represent kids involved in court hearings. Getting as much information as possible on the kids is invaluable when they represent them in court.

"The second main advantage is financial support. The state provides matching funds to help get things we need, whether it is mileage reimbursement for volunteers or computers."

He said children's advocates are an important aid for young people while also cost effective for county government.

"Over time, there's no question the advocates are better able to do the things that need to be done," he said. "And it's less expensive than providing guardian ad litems, which are attorneys who charge attorney fees, for all these kids."

A children's advocate researches the child's background, family and school history and appears in court to say what's best for the child. The advocates can't speak to the judge outside of court but they can talk to the program director Debra McGriff-Tharp if they have questions about the process or their responsibilities.

The advocates must first complete a 30-hour training program about the court and child welfare systems, child abuse and neglect issue, relevant state and federal laws, permanency planning and family preservation, cultural awareness and confidentiality and ethics.

"The cases are not always easy," Toney said. "But when that case is over, they know they've made a difference in getting the child in the right place at the right time."

McGriff-Tharp said she tells volunteers during the training process they are the eyes and ears of the judge, helping him to make a final determination in the case.

"The more information I have the better," he said. "It has to give the children somewhat of a sense of security to know they have someone responsible to represent them. It's especially important with infants who don't even have the ability to say. The child's advocate can provide me with information about how we got to this point."

McGriff-Tharp said a previous local court advocates program had several participating community volunteers. Now with the additional training opportunities that are available, she hopes some of them will consider getting involved again. She is in the process of making contact with the former volunteers.

"It took us about a year working with the state to receive the certification," she said. "We currently have a waiting list of kids waiting on advocates. Our goal is to not have a waiting list, or rather to have advocates waiting on children."

Judge Toney said in Randolph County there are currently about 55 children in active court cases that require an advocate or guardian ad litem.

For more information about Children's Advocates of Randolph County or to volunteer to participate in the program, contact McGriff-Tharp at (765) 584-7186.