Guardian program short on volunteers

Guardian program short on volunteers
BY SUSANNE CERVENKA

An 8-year-old child tried to talk to a relative about his mother's
habit. The child reached into a pocket and pulled out a handful of
empty bags that used to contain crack. The relative didn't know what
to do, didn't want to be involved, didn't want to start a problem. But
the problem already existed. Mom was addicted to drugs, and the child
was being neglected.

"My heart just began to cry," Corrie Ziegler said when she heard the
story. "It's the epitome of a child's cry out for help."

It was stories like this that moved Ziegler to volunteer for the
Guardian ad Litem program to help children overcome family substance
abuse and neglect problems. Those who run the program say more people
like Ziegler are needed.

The Guardian ad Litem program is a division of the governor's office
that investigates abuse and neglect cases and represents the child in
Family Court, said Louise Cooper, spokeswoman for the program.

The volunteers work independently of the Department of So- cial
Services, advising the court in the child's best interest, Cooper
said.

"We're the ones who are going to be looking at the child's level," she
said.

Ziegler, who has volunteered with the program for five years, said
being a guardian is not always a cakewalk, especially when it might
involve permanently removing a child from his or her family.

"Terminating a parent's rights is never something that's easy," she
said, adding that in a few cases, she has pursued that because it was
the only solution. In one case, Zeigler saw a child make "tremendous
improvement" within four years of being removed from an abusive
situation. Programs in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties
are facing shortages of trained volunteers.

"There is probably more abuse than people realize," Cooper said. In
July, Charleston County's Guardian ad Litem program represented 168
cases, 376 children in all.

But 12 cases were turned away because no volunteer was available to
take another case.

Because the law requires a Guardian ad Litem to be assigned to each
abuse case, when no volunteers are available, the child is assigned an
attorney, Cooper said.

"Sometimes the attorney simply cannot spend the time with the child
that a volunteer would," she said.

The volunteer sees the child every month, becoming a familiar face in
a frightening situation, Cooper said.

"Guardians provide continuity and comfort to the child who has already
suffered through abuse or neglect," she said.

A volunteer usually has two cases at a time, but in counties where
cases outnumber volunteers, some average more than that, Cooper said.

Ziegler said she usually has two at a time, but took on a third when
she heard the situation.

"This one, I couldn't let it go," she said.

In July, the Dorchester County program saw 80 active cases
representing 174 children divided among 25 volunteers. Nine cases were
turned over to lawyers.

"We would need more still in Dorchester and Charleston to accept all
the cases that are coming in," Cooper said.

"Compassion for children is very present in the Lowcountry," Cooper
said.

"I cannot help but believe that if people understood the vital role we
play in helping children reach permanence and safety, they would
become volunteers."

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