| Contact | Janet Priore (Guardian ad Litem) 772 336-9956 |
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To encourage members of our St. Bernadette Parish Family to consider becoming an advocate for children through the Florida Guardian ad Litem Program. This program is a partnership of community advocates and professional staff providing a powerful voice on behalf of Florida's abused, neglected, or otherwise at-risk children. A guardian d litem is a steward appointed by the court to protect the rights of an advocate for the best interest of a child involved in a court proceeding. Additional background on the goals and purpose of the program cab be obtained at guardianadlitem.org.
Responsibilities - A guardian d litem carries out the following activities: advocacy, facilitation, investigation and monitoring. Visting a child, interviewing appropriate parties, gathering and assesssing independent information and participating in court hearings and submitting written reports.
Consult https://guardianadlitem.org/ for a full description of Guardian ad Litem, and https://www.placeofhope.com/ or https://www.placeofhope.com/traditional-foster-care/ for a full description of the Foster Parent Program.
Helpful Attributes - a loving, caring heart and a dedication to helping our community's children. No legal experience. Anyone with compassion, common sense and dedication to children can be a guardian d litem.
Time Commitment - After completion of required training, approximately 10 hours per month working on a case(as with an average, some cases will involve more time and some less time).
Training Required - Must successfully complete 30 hours of certification training and 6 hours annually of re-certification conducted by the Florida Guardian ad Litem Program.
Fingerprinting Required - Fingerprinting is required. In addition a background check will be conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement