The Guardian Ad Litem Program seeks volunteers to represent kids of all ages.
By BRYAN K. CASANAS
Published June 14, 2004
CLEARWATER - Malinda Fusco volunteers to fight for kids who aren't even her own, kids who will probably never remember her.
But three years after she heard a radio commercial that tugged at her heartstrings, Fusco continues to offer her time as a guardian ad litem, a volunteer-based program that is dedicated to representing the best interests of children involved in the court system who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.
The guardians are, at times, the only constant person in a child's life. Fusco has been representing a 14-month-old since his birth and said that everyone in his life has changed - except her.
"These kids need us. We're really the only person that sticks with these kids," Fusco said.
When she first started, Fusco took only one case at a time, which is typical for the volunteers. However, she was soon taking on three cases, then eight, then nine, because the number of guardians was woefully inadequate compared with the number of children who needed them.
"We are so desperate for guardians, and you feel it," she said.
The county's current 225 guardians have been assigned to 550 cases, encompassing about 1,000 children. However, there are still about 80 cases involving at least 160 children that are pending. The program urgently needs more volunteers to take up the shortfall.
The Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court's Guardian Ad Litem Program provides advocates for the two counties' children who are caught between an overburdened welfare system and an abusive or otherwise dysfunctional home.
The volunteer guardians serve a fourfold role as information gatherers, reporters, monitors and spokesmen for the children. As trained advocates, the volunteers are appointed by judges to be the courtroom voice for these children.
The Guardian Ad Litem Program seems to work best as a volunteer-based program. "As a volunteer, you're doing it because you want to do it. You tend to take a different, more objective approach," said Fusco, adding, "We're not paid; we don't have anything to lose."
Both she and James Deveney Jr., who has been volunteering for the program since 2000 and was chosen as the 2004 guardian ad litem of the year, agree that as volunteers, guardians ad litem are better able to serve the best interests of children.
"Since I'm a volunteer, I get no pay. So, I can be politically incorrect at times; I can speak my mind," Deveney said.
Deveney said the hardest part of the job is being unbiased. He has learned to accept that other parents' ways of life, though different from his, may be acceptable. "It's hard to stick your nose into somebody else's business," Deveney said.
Despite such difficulties, Deveney and Fusco agree that the most rewarding part of the job is the difference they make in children's lives.
"Sometimes it's a pain in the butt, but . . . (the best part is) knowing that I've done the best I can for the child and, hopefully, I've helped open doors and avenues for that child to be a better person," Deveney said.
Guardians ad litem are involved in a wide variety of cases, but Fusco and Deveney focus mainly on cases involving the termination of parental rights.
"I would always like to see families stay together," Deveney said, "but they do not take the time to change their way of living and do not recognize the things the child doesn't have the vocabulary or the inclination to say."
The guardians work with children of all ages.
"There's never been an age limit to abuse, abandonment or neglect," Fusco said.
Volunteers in the program must be at least 19 years old, with no record of a felony or judicial finding of guilt for a crime against a person, and no prior history of abuse or neglect of a child or adult.
Volunteers must complete 30 hours of training, including classroom training and courtroom observation.
A five-week guardian ad litem training class will start June 22 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Classes will be held at the Criminal Justice Center, 14250 49th St. N in Clearwater. Before attending the classes, please contact the Guardian Ad Litem Program at 727 464-6528 or visit the Web site at www.suncoastgal.org
