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Speaking for small voices

Guardians ad Litem provide stability to children in foster care while ensuring that they are safe and well cared for.

By ASHLEE CLARK
Published June 26, 2006

Her job doesn't sound easy.

As a Guardian ad Litem, Jane Hanzsek must be a detective, an advocate and an expert witness as she monitors the case of a child in foster care.

She has performed those duties since 1999. Recently, the Salvation Army recognized her for one of her cases.

Hanzsek, 59, of Largo received the Children's Justice Award in a ceremony May 19 in recognition of a case she worked on with Help A Child Inc., which operates a medical foster care program.

Hanzsek is one of 262 certified guardians in the county. Their role as court-appointed child advocates is wide, but they operate with a narrow goal: to ensure the safety and well-being of children in foster care.

"Who is there looking out for them and their best interests? That's us," said Donna Rasmussen, director of the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Guardian ad Litem program.

As of April, guardians were representing 1,193 dependent children, Rasmussen said. There were still about 1,800 children without guardian representation.

Hanzsek's career as a guardian began with a tap on the shoulder.

She was at a meeting for docents at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art in Largo when a friend, who was a guardian, told her about the program.

"I found just what you're looking for," the friend said.

Hanzsek was always interested in helping children. She had been an art teacher at the elementary and middle school levels.

"I came to the belief that in order to help children, I needed to do it one child at a time, and the program let me do that," Hanzsek said.

Hanzsek "stuck to her guns" and made sure that the child was taken care of in the four-year case for which she won the award, said Judy Tangney, a guardian case coordinator who works with Hanzsek.

Hanzsek and other guardians try to be a constant face in the rotating medley of caseworkers, judges and foster parents whom children face in the foster care system.

Home visits, family interviews and court appearances are all part of the guardians' responsibilities on a case, which can sometimes last for years.

Hanzsek said she didn't really know what poverty or destitute was until she became a guardian. She said she has now seen what it's like for people to have their "soul worn away daily."

Guardians, most of whom are volunteers, make reports to the judge about where the child should be placed that would be in the child's best interest.

"We're able to be the rubber band that temporarily holds the system together for the child," Hanzsek said.

The guardians can also ensure that the little things in the child's life are taken care of, such as summer camps, school clothes and supplies.

Hanzsek recalled a case in which she shopped with a child who was excited to get new clothes. His arms were covered in cigarette burns, but he wanted to show off his short sleeves.

"He was so proud of his new clothes that he didn't care," Hanzsek said.

But seeing children placed in a situation that best benefits them is one of the best rewards that a guardian can receive.

"I think a lot of the rewards have to come from within," said Greg Mertz, who has been a guardian for a year.

The process can be emotionally challenging when parents don't follow a case plan to get their children back.

Telling a judge that parental rights should be terminated are "the hardest words I've ever had to say in my entire life," Hanzsek said.

Hanzsek is supported by a team of guardians who share the stresses and triumphs of being child advocates, she said.

The award isn't only for her, she said, but also for all child advocates.

And she challenges more people to join her and the other guardians.

"Even if we work one child at a time," she said, "we can change the system."

Ashlee Clark can be reached at (727) 445-4158 or aclark@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 25, 2006, 22:11:36]