If Florida House budget proposal passes, abused children are at risk of losing their voice in court
 Posted on Tue, Apr. 14, 2009
Give voice to child advocatesUntil Jimmy, a child in Miami-Dade County’s foster-care system, met his guardian ad litem, he had refused to leave his room. Jimmy was born with a skeletal deformity that made him the target of taunts at school. Jimmy isolated himself from his foster parents, teachers and the rest of the world.Not only did Jimmy’s guardian ad litem persuade him to leave his room and come to court, but she also found him a surgeon who operated on Jimmy. Now Jimmy stands tall and lives with his adopted parent.
In Tallahassee, the voice for 27,000 children served by guardians ad litem (GALs) statewide is in jeopardy of being weakened or silenced. Judges created this program to give the child-protection system what it lacked in the decision-making process: an independent voice in the courtroom speaking on behalf of the best interest of children. This model has been firmly embedded in Florida’s child-protection system for more than 25 years. State law requires that every child in all maltreatment cases have a guardian ad litem (unless one is not available). These caring, trained volunteers, with professional support, help judges make the best possible decision for these children. If Florida House budget proposal 2009 passes, the most vulnerable children are at risk of losing their voice in court. This proposal recommends a 23-percent cut — $7.6 million — in the GAL budget. If passed, it will force the program to substantially reduce the indispensable support system upon which volunteer advocates rely. About 5,700 victims of abuse, abandonment and neglect (18 percent of the total number of children in care) will lose their GAL. This means their voices in court will go silent, and judges will lose an indispensable resource in making sound, therapeutic decisions. Not one organization involved in child welfare supports the cut, including the Department of Children & Families, Florida’s Children First and The Children’s Campaign. The Florida Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges — 48 juvenile-court judges from Pensacola to Miami — is not in favor of cutting one penny from the GAL budget, let alone by $7.6 million. Although the Legislature mandates a GAL for every child, that has not been achieved because of lack of funding. By drastically defunding an underfunded mandate, the Legislature is breaking faith with the children it promised to care for and protect. CINDY S. LEDERMAN, Miami-Dade chief juvenile judge, Miami JERI BETH COHEN, Circuit Court judge, Miami |
