In the best interest of children

By Ken Burger (Contact) The Post and Courier Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Entering the courtroom is a family whose tree is so complicated it must be diagrammed on a white board so the judge can determine whose child belongs to what mother by which father.

Everyone is represented in this soap opera except, of course, the infant child whose future is ultimately on trial.

In Charleston County alone, the Department of Social Services orders about 35 children a month into protective care, often juggling several hundred young lives at a time.

On a typical Monday afternoon, the human carnage of drug abuse, alcoholism, incest, abandonment and sexual assault comes marching through Family Court with lawyers representing everyone except the kids, who are not present.

That job falls to a group of volunteers, Guardian ad Litem they’re called, whose job it is to decide what’s in the best interest of the children.

And sometimes the choices are not easy.

Common sense

On this day, six new guardians graduate from a 30-hour course on how to sort through the available options. Their induction is a reality check.

The day’s docket is a dysfunctional parade of pitiful parents whose children have been removed from their home for a variety of offenses.

In 15-minute clips, they face the judge and hear the charges. Negligence. Drug use. Abhorrent conditions. Domestic violence. Physical cruelty. The ugly side of our society we wish didn’t exist.

When it comes time to decide the fate of the innocent children, much weight is given to the opinion of civilians. Not lawyers or judges. Just people like you and me.

A Guardian ad Litem – fancy Latin words for people who care about kids – gives their time and energy and intellect to see that children have a voice in places that deal with adult issues.

Sometimes, between all the mumbo jumbo, you just need a little common sense, which, as we all know, is not that common.

Singular and independent

Who are these people?

Dave is a retired business executive who heard about the program through a friend and thought he could make a difference.

Jill has a 9-year-old son she adopted from Russia and knows the value of having someone who cares just for you.

Alexis, a young sociology major, said her mother told her it would be a good thing to do with her spare time.

Kathaleen, a retired health care executive, wanted to give something back to the community.

Jane, a former school administrator, answered an ad in the newspaper.

Kasondra, said she heard about the program from a man who was working on her house.

Each soon will join a league of 100 volunteers who become advocates for children caught in the spin cycle of the legal system. And unlike the social workers or the lawyers or the judges who toil in these trenches, their job is singular and independent: Do what is best for the children.

Lois Richter runs the Guardian ad Litem program and wishes more people would consider this important responsibility (577-6978). Even with the addition of 60 local law students in the mix, more than 60 percent of kids still go unrepresented.

“If you take the guardians out of the picture, there is nobody to look out for the children,” Richter said. “Our guardians are the most wonderful people in the world.”

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or 937-5598. To read previous columns, go to postandcourier.com/burger/.