Guardian ad Litem making headlines

So... in Guardian ad Litem news the late Anna Nicole Smith's baby was appointed the a Miami lawyer Richard C. Milstein as her Guardian ad Litem. You can read about it here in this news article or read the article on FOXNews.com titled Anna Nicole Smith's Mother Appeals Bahamas Burial Decision, Ruling on Paternity Issues Pending to see how much influence the guardian had on Smith's final resting place as well as his interaction with the disputed fathers of baby Dannielynn.

The Future of Children

This link will take you to a full journal called Children Families and Foster Care. There are a host of peer reviewed articles on the subject of adoption and guardianship. This has been a priority of the court system for about 30 years. These articles cover topics from stability of children in adoption situations, to policy. If you are interested in a slight introduction to the scholarship behind this process this is the place to go.

Verizon joins in the effort...

The Verizon Foundation the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, matches both volunteer hours and employee contributions by giving a monetary donation to Florida Guardian ad Litem. Click below to read what happened in Tampa Florida...

Guardian ad Litm: A short explanaton

The Florida Guardian ad Litem Association is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide additional resources for the Florida Guardian ad Litem Program and its affiliated circuit non-profit organizations. Guardian ad Litem's goal is to provide representation for abused, neglected and abandoned children in Florida's system.

A volunteer Guardian Ad Litem is a representative for the child before the court, social service agencies, and the community. Guardian Ad Litem responsibilities include, monitoring the child's case to insure proper services are received, protecting the child from insensitive questioning, speaking for the child in court, and reporting information to assist the Court in determining the best interests of the child. A Guardian Ad Litem is a person who cares and has time to devote to children. Each volunteer must attend more than 30 hours of training and successfully pass a thorough background screening.

The state system is overbooked with child abuse and neglect cases. It's the communities job to lookout for these children.

The Guardian ad litem program is a great idea. To be a GAL is one step up from up from being a mentor to an abandoned child. I as an undergraduate have looked into being a volunteer, but I do not want to jump in head first and disappoint a child or a supervisor. I plan to practice law and think that i will do a majority of my pro bono work for this program.