LilMtnCbn
06-10-2004, 08:16 AM
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1346&dept_id=433122&newsid=11918136
&PAG=461&rfi=9
Can you be an advocate for neglected children?
Editorial Board June 09, 2004
For the past two weeks, the Huntington Herald has run a two-part series that
told the story of a girl who had been abandoned, and the advocate who made a
difference in her life.
The series began with the heartbreaking story of the girl's early years: her
father left when she was born; two years later, her mother was killed in a car
accident. The aunt and uncle who took her in broke up when she was 8, and the
uncle left the area. When the girl was 10, her aunt gave her up for adoption
and left the state. After that, the girl went through a series of foster homes
- she was abused at one - until finally, at age 15, she tried to kill herself.
She wound up in a psychiatric ward.
Unfortunately, this girl (we called her Gloria, which is not her real name) is
not the only child enduring such terrible circumstances. Each year in the U.S.
nearly one million children are victims of abuse or neglect. In Connecticut,
the numbers reach the tens of thousands. In 2003, there were 567 allegations of
abuse or neglect in Shelton, 90 of which were substantiated.
The plight of so many children can move many to want to help. And that is
exactly what John Fenton did.
Fenton, a retired Madison Avenue advertising executive, felt a need to give
back to the community. When he heard about Court-Appointed Special Advocates
(CASA), the 64-year-old was intrigued. These advocates are community volunteers
who speak for the best interests of children trying to find their way through
the juvenile court system to a safe, permanent home.
Fenton did not imagine he would ever become a child advocate. He had no
background in law, but that did not matter. These volunteers come from all
walks of life and all types of professions. The one thing they all have in
common is their desire to help children being shuffled through the system. The
fact that CASA volunteers mostly do not have legal backgrounds is an asset.
Volunteers are motivated by a pure desire to help children, and therefore are
able to offer sincere recommendations when called in on a case.
After an interview and background check, Fenton received training and
supervision from Children in Placement, a non-profit agency with offices in
each of the state's juvenile courts.
The training is crucial. Most of these children do not come from neat, pretty
places. Many of them have severe issues related to poverty, neglect and
abandonment. Emotional disorders and learning disabilities often enter the mix.
Then there are cultural differences to consider.
Gloria, for example, was heavily medicated when Fenton first met her. She
wasn't responsive in his presence. Even after she was off the medication and
her demeanor started to improve, she wasn't cooperative with attempts to find
her a permanent home. She had been living in a state facility where, for the
first time in years, she felt safe. She wasn't about to leave there for a
strange place - not after what she had been through. Fenton had to consider all
this and more as he worked to determine what was best for Gloria.
In the end, Gloria seems to have found a happy ending to her story. She
recently wrote to Fenton from London, where she is living with her uncle and
his extended family. She is planning to go to college, where she wants to major
in psychology. Who knows; maybe she will be working with abused and neglected
children in the future, helping them find their way, as Fenton helped her.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
&PAG=461&rfi=9
Can you be an advocate for neglected children?
Editorial Board June 09, 2004
For the past two weeks, the Huntington Herald has run a two-part series that
told the story of a girl who had been abandoned, and the advocate who made a
difference in her life.
The series began with the heartbreaking story of the girl's early years: her
father left when she was born; two years later, her mother was killed in a car
accident. The aunt and uncle who took her in broke up when she was 8, and the
uncle left the area. When the girl was 10, her aunt gave her up for adoption
and left the state. After that, the girl went through a series of foster homes
- she was abused at one - until finally, at age 15, she tried to kill herself.
She wound up in a psychiatric ward.
Unfortunately, this girl (we called her Gloria, which is not her real name) is
not the only child enduring such terrible circumstances. Each year in the U.S.
nearly one million children are victims of abuse or neglect. In Connecticut,
the numbers reach the tens of thousands. In 2003, there were 567 allegations of
abuse or neglect in Shelton, 90 of which were substantiated.
The plight of so many children can move many to want to help. And that is
exactly what John Fenton did.
Fenton, a retired Madison Avenue advertising executive, felt a need to give
back to the community. When he heard about Court-Appointed Special Advocates
(CASA), the 64-year-old was intrigued. These advocates are community volunteers
who speak for the best interests of children trying to find their way through
the juvenile court system to a safe, permanent home.
Fenton did not imagine he would ever become a child advocate. He had no
background in law, but that did not matter. These volunteers come from all
walks of life and all types of professions. The one thing they all have in
common is their desire to help children being shuffled through the system. The
fact that CASA volunteers mostly do not have legal backgrounds is an asset.
Volunteers are motivated by a pure desire to help children, and therefore are
able to offer sincere recommendations when called in on a case.
After an interview and background check, Fenton received training and
supervision from Children in Placement, a non-profit agency with offices in
each of the state's juvenile courts.
The training is crucial. Most of these children do not come from neat, pretty
places. Many of them have severe issues related to poverty, neglect and
abandonment. Emotional disorders and learning disabilities often enter the mix.
Then there are cultural differences to consider.
Gloria, for example, was heavily medicated when Fenton first met her. She
wasn't responsive in his presence. Even after she was off the medication and
her demeanor started to improve, she wasn't cooperative with attempts to find
her a permanent home. She had been living in a state facility where, for the
first time in years, she felt safe. She wasn't about to leave there for a
strange place - not after what she had been through. Fenton had to consider all
this and more as he worked to determine what was best for Gloria.
In the end, Gloria seems to have found a happy ending to her story. She
recently wrote to Fenton from London, where she is living with her uncle and
his extended family. She is planning to go to college, where she wants to major
in psychology. Who knows; maybe she will be working with abused and neglected
children in the future, helping them find their way, as Fenton helped her.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
