INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Birthdays ................................ 2

Court Reports ......................... 2

Consent Agreements .............. 3

Closed Case Materials ............. 4

Confidentiality ......................... 4

Court Delays ............................ 5

Two Cents……………………………6

Program Contact………………….7

NC Judicial District 9 E newsletter

First Quarter 2020

FALL 2019 GAL Class

The Fall 2019 class of D9 Advocates took their oaths in Vance County on

Wednesday, November 6th, 2019 with the Honorable Judge Amanda E.

Stevenson presiding. New GALs (pictured above left to right) are Jessi-

ca McClanahan (Person), Gwen Clayton (Granville/Vance), Judge Ste-

venson, CJ Phillips (Vance) and Donnamarie Newkirk (Vance). Not pic-

tured: Deanna Smith (Granville/Vance).

We welcome our new D9 volunteers and look forward to working with

them in securing safety and permanence to the children we serve.

Our first training of 2020 begins on Tuesday, February 18th. If you

know of any interested friends or contacts, please spread the word!

www.volunteerforgal.com

Do you Know Someone

who could and would

serve as a GAL?

Please consider reaching

out to them with your

story of service!

2

Guardian ad Litem Advocate Court Report Editing

“Is it time to Write My Guardian ad Litem Court Report?”

Guardian ad Litem Advocates are encouraged to use the “Best Practice” checklist below to assist in producing the most correct and useful GAL re-port: 1. Best Practice: Did I include all essential best practice elements of the court report regardless of the format used? (refer to the Guardian ad Li-

tem Guidebook)

2. Guardian ad Litem Independence: Do I report observations I made myself so that the court will know I worked independently and is able to see where my opinions come from?

3. Documentation: Have I documented the work I did in terms of peo-ple seen/documents re-viewed and child visits with dates and places? Did I remember to list anyone and everyone I spoke to who is men-tioned in the body of the report? If I include information from other sources, have I given them credit?

4. Non-Judgmental: Have I replaced judgmental language with de-scriptive, quantitative information?

5. Recommendations: Did I address the child-client’s needs in the rec-ommendations and substantiate them all in the body of the report? Have I made sure every recommendation has been discussed in the body of the report? Are my recommendations child-focused?

6. Clear Picture: Have I described my child-client’s situation and con-dition so that their story can be followed logically? Is it always clear exactly to whom I‘m referring when I use pro-nouns like he, she, they, etc.?

7. Well-Written: Is my information divided into paragraphs that cover only one main topic? Have I broken long wordy sentences into shorter clearer sentences?

8. Concise: Is this report too long? Have I said too much? Can the vol-ume of information be reduced without compromising the need of the children? Thanks to the Wake Co. GAL Office for this article.

BIRTHDAYS

JANUARY

• CHRISTY EUBANKS

• KENNY HARP

• BRENDA MARROY

• CJ PHILLIPS

• DEBRA TAYLOR

• GAYLE TAYLOR

FEBUARY

• KARLA BROGDEN

• BARBARA FOUNTAIN

• VALERIE GRASSO

• LAURA STEPHENSON

• FAYE THORPE

MARCH

• GWEN CLAYTON

• SHAUNA GUTHRIE

• SCOTT LEREW

• MARY MARROW

• CAROL MCNAIR

• PATRICIA MORRIS

• CHRISTINA RODOSTA

• ELIZABETH SHAHADY-BRIDDLE

• ALESIA STONE

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF WE EVER MISS YOUR BIRTHDAY!

3

Information from Attorney Advocates:

Consent Orders

Sometimes our GALs come to court and learn that the attorneys have

discussed the possibility of avoiding a long, drawn out hearing on

adjudication (where we ask the judge to find abuse, neglect or de-

pendency, or any combination thereof). How is a hearing with wit-

nesses, testimony, objections and attorney arguments avoided? By

the signing of the consent order.

A proposed consent order is usually drafted by the county attorneys

(for DSS) and negotiated with the parents’ attorneys and the GAL

Attorney Advocate. In such a document the parties charged—

typically the parents or caregivers as outlined on the original petition

consent to validity of the alleged charges. Sometimes the parents will consent to an edited version of the

original charges—for example, they will consent to dependency not disagree with neglect. All parties must

agree to the wording of the consent order if a hearing is to be avoided.

For example, if parent attorneys are willing to consent to dependency but the GAL and DSS attorneys feel

that the charge of neglect stay on the table, then a hearing would proceed and the Judge would rule on the

findings of adjudication.

A consent order is not a bad thing. The document sets out certain facts and findings as to the child(ren) and

the parents. It should be our goal to make sure such a document contains all of the facts and background

information that brought the child(ren) into care. We want to make sure that in attorney negotiations, the

facts don’t get “watered down” too much by parents’ attorneys. The parents’ attorneys may attempt to sof-

ten the facts or delete some of the assertions to appease their clients. We always need your help in making

sure we have a good, strong document that does justice to the case’s unique situation.

Portions of this article were provided by Mellonee Kennedy and Dee Hord, Attorney Advocates for the

Wake County program.

Turning in Closed Case Materials

Thank you to all our Guardians ad Litem who have taken cases over the years. As you are well aware, with cases comes a lot of paper.

If you have had a case that is now closed and you still have paperwork or files from those cases, we would like to take it off your hands. Due to the highly con-fidential nature of the work we do, child advocates should return all files and paperwork related to their cases to the GAL office once the case is closed so we can shred the materials correctly.

If you have access to a shredder or would like problem solve an appropriate way to erase your online materials, please your supervisor.

As a Guardian ad Litem Volunteer Advocate, you have access

to confidential information about children and people in-

volved in those children’s lives. Please keep in mind that as a

GAL advocate you may not release this information except to

the child, GAL Program staff, the social worker, the court,

and others as instructed by law or local court rules.

There are strict guidelines about who can have access to con-

fidential information. By law, GAL volunteers must keep all information regarding the case

confidential and make no disclosure, except by court orders or unless provided by law.

Please give thought and planning to where you store your materials—both the physical materi-

als and the digital/online materials.

When in doubt, discuss any confidentiality concerns with your Guardian ad Litem Program

Supervisor.

In 1955, there was one psychiatric bed for every

three hundred Americans, fifty years later, it was

one bed for every three thousand.—Bryan Stevenson 4

Many times, we – the GAL office staff – have

conversations with our advocates that focus on

the frustration that stems from how slow the

actual court actions take; often times, our volun-

teers become especially frustrated when they

witness things that slow the court process even

more! In this past year, I have had a serious dis-

cussion with an advocate who was considering

resigning over these very issues.

My response during this conversation was – of course – please don’t resign! But moreo-

ver, I really wanted to emphasize that these stops and starts and delays are one of the very

reasons that our children need our volunteers to stay involved. Our GALs bear witness to

what is going on in our individual cases and over time (and turn over) can be the true his-

tory-bearer for the case and the child. What a powerful role.

Some of the folks that I work closely with may recall that we have done multiple legal-size

spreadsheets to document the history of a case prior to a TPR or a table that outlines ex-

actly how many times a case has been continued and why. The fact that we are present to

present this information to the court should not be diminished for if not us, then who?

All of us do our best to communicate with our Attorney Advocates, parent attorneys and

DSS to be able to give you that best possible idea about what each court day will hold; how-

ever, we all know that we are often surprised by a sick parent attorney or a snow day! If

you can’t come to court on a date, then we will work with you to make sure that your cur-

rent report and recommendations are heard. The ultimate priority is that you are seeing

the children on your case at least monthly and that you are up to date on the circumstances

of their case.

Remember that the connection that you have with the children on your case goes on

monthly, no matter what may delay the court. The knowledge and insights that you gain

over time can only make you a more effective advocate.

Please be patient as we work through your cases’ journey. We will be there with you. Also

remember those practical things—like bringing something to read and a light snack if you

expect a long court day or a sweater. If you are close to the courthouse, we can always no-

tify you by text when your case is about to be heard. Beyond their assigned cases, some of

our GAL enjoy the court process and supporting their fellow volunteers—remembering

these points can sometimes bring more fulfillment when you are present.

- Melanie Griggs 5

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATOR’S TWO CENTS

Happy New Year! A new decade and new opportunities to rep-

resent for children’s best interests in court.

The need for Guardians ad Litem in our five-county district grows

as new abuse and neglect petitions are filed. The next GAL train-

ing session begins in February. Please invite people in your cir-

cles to consider joining the 111 current advocates representing

over 200 children. As a GAL advocate or a supporter of GAL,

there is a simple way to help with program awareness. Follow and

share posts from the NC D9 Guardian ad Litem Facebook page

www.facebook.com/VGFWGAL

*January brings change to courthouse operations. By administrative order, with few excep-

tions, cellphones and other electronic devices are no longer permitted. For Guardian ad Litem,

advocates need to present the program-issued ID anytime you come to a courthouse. Contact

staff if you have an ID that needs updated /renewed.

*Many of our child clients are placed outside of their home county and still need visits. Mileage

for visits to your child client’s remains in effect. Talk specifics with your case supervisor

*The national organization NC GAL is a member of has a name change. National CASA is now

known as National Court Appointed Special Advocate(CASA)/Guardian Ad Litem(GAL) Associ-

ation for Children -National CASA/GAL, with new web address of www.nationalcasagal.org and

remains a great resource for everyone serving child clients.

*Save the date! Tuesday, April 7th. Staff is planning an event at the Granville Expo Center

which will include an in-service by our favorite Children’s Home Society presenters . Watch

your email for more information as the date approaches.

*The GAL state office continues to send notices for continuing education trainings around the

state. Take advantage of it when your schedule permits.

Thank you for being the voice for the children in our community.

Mary Jo

Guardian Ad Litem Offices

Franklin County Office Granville County Office

P.O. Box 673 1001 College St.

Hobgood Courthouse Annex Oxford, NC 27565

113 S. Main St. (919) 690-4924

Louisburg, NC 27549

(919) 497-4244

Vance County Office Person County Office

P.O. Box 722 Person County Courthouse

Vance County Courthouse 105 S. Main St.

156 Church St. Roxboro, NC 27573

Henderson, NC 27536 (336) 503-5265

(252) 430-5121

www.volunteerfor gal.com