Dear Volunteers and Supporters of the Guardian ad Litem Program:

The month of June brings to mind many different things. It ushers in summer and unusually

long, warm days and short nights. Its unhurried and non-threatening manner makes one think Juno,

the Roman Goddess, is really looking out for us.

June also marks the celebration of Father’s Day. A day when most of us gather with our Dads to

thank them for their many gifts and sacrifices and reluctantly admit that their advice, on one or more

of our life-changing decisions, may have been more or less correct.

Regrettably, for far too many of “our” children, Father’s Day is not celebrated. Instead of the warmth

and comfort brought about by family gatherings, much more commonly, they are left alone to think

about the person they haven’t met or don’t know. They recall the man wearing the stripped jump suit,

who will be incarcerated for the next three years, and secretly wish they had different Dads or at least

someone who said what he meant and meant what he said.

Right now, in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, most of the 1,400 plus children served by the Guardian ad

Litem Program are facing life without the presence of a capable, caring man in their lives. “Our” girls

have no one to tell them they’re special and should be treated as such and “our” boys lack the guid-

ance and support necessary to become accountable, successful men.

As we approach the lazy days of summer, in addition to having fun and enjoying your visits up north,

please keep in mind less than 15% of our volunteers are men. Consider the important role your Father

played in your life, and before the cooler evenings descend upon us, resolve to recruit at least one

man to our volunteer ranks.

Have a wonderful summer and thank you for making a difference in the life of a child.

Sincerely yours,

Marcia

Marcia Hilty

Circuit Director

A message from Marcia Hilty, Circuit Director

I N S I D E

T H I S

I S S U E :

Father’s Day 1

Employee Recognition

2 4

Training Updates

2

Around the Circuit

3 6 7 9

Outstanding FCMs

4

VOICES 5

5 t h C i r c u i t G A L

J U N E 2 9 , 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3 H I G H L I G H T S

I am for the Child — always our

focus and commitment

June 17th

Father’s Day

Employee

Recognition

Training

Resources

Around the

Circuit

Outstanding

FCMs

Acronyms &

Abbrevia-tions

Earn .5 Continuing Educational Units (CEUs) by reading each issue of our 5th Circuit

GAL Newsletter! Yes, you will be credited each time you read our quarterly newsletter,

which should help you toward the 2012 required 12 CEUs, for annual GAL Re-

certification. Don’t forget, last year you were only required to obtain 6 CEUs by the end

of the year. This was changed to 12 CEUs, starting with calendar year 2012. Create your

own convenient CEU training log to keep track of all your training throughout the year.

Don’t forget, CEUs for Brown Bags, On-line Training, On-line reading materials, semi-

nars, conferences, and more . . .

http://www.guardianadlitem.org/att_conf_train.asp

.5 CEUs

I am for the Child

Staff Directory

10

P A G E 2

Employee of the Month - Extraordinary People Amy Robertson is

our May Employee of

the Month.

Amy, who has been

with the Program for

twelve years, began as

a volunteer, advanced

to part-time Volunteer

Trainer and today

serves as Supervisor of

our Marion County

Case Coordinators.

Amy can best be de-

scribed as an unassuming,

yet exceedingly compe-

tent, dependency profes-

sional. Her work ethic,

diplomacy skills and qual-

ity of advocacy are un-

paralleled. If it’s a high

profile or exceedingly

difficult case, chances are

it’s assigned to Amy.

Verna Wall said it best

when she said, “Amy is a

wonderful person who is

adored by her volunteers

and trusted by her co-

workers. She is the ulti-

mate sweetie.”

Marcia Hilty

5 T H C I R C U I T G A L

ing training. You should

have already received a

copy as we email blast-

ed it to all volunteers

asking them to distrib-

ute and/or display it to

all their contacts.

For more information

on training, please con-

tact Lynn Sennett 352-

274-5231

Lynn.Sennett@gal.fl.gov

With your help, we can

achieve our goal!

Amy

Robertson

—May

Employee

of the

Month

Amy Robertson

Important Training Updates

They need our voice

Please help us pro-

mote this training by

telling your friends, colleagues, neighbors

and family members

about our next train-

ing.

We have a flyer an-

nouncing the upcom-

We’ve got an ex-

cellent pre-

service volunteer

training beginning August 7th at a

convenient loca-

tion for partici-

pants throughout

our Fifth Circuit -

Oxford - and we

just need our

best resource

YOU, to help us

promote this

timely training oppor-

tunity.

Last year we had 38

people attend this train-

ing. This year, we’d like

to have 50 new partici-

pants! GALs are our

best source of referral.

When: August 7, 8,

14, & 15 from 9 AM

to 4PM

Where: Oxford

Assembly of God,

12114 N. US Hwy

301, Oxford, FL

34484

ALL GALs - Can you think of

someone who would be a good GAL?

Social clubs

Shop owners

Family members

Neighbors

Colleagues

Church members

SIGN UP FOR Facebook today and like us!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Florida-

Guardian-ad-LitemProgram/164070170277062

Around the Circuit - Hernando County

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

Hernando County welcomed

the Class of 2012 with open

arms. After four intense days

of training, they were treat-

ed to a warm welcome by

the Honorable Barbara

Gurrola, a retired judge,

who regaled them with sto-

ries of her experiences in

Dependency Court and then

swore them in.

If you were anywhere in the

courthouse those two

weeks, you would have seen

the new class busily complet-

ing their court watch.

The new Guardians are: James Rumpel (Citrus) Adriana Probus (Hernando)

Carol Brandt (Hernando) Deborah Marholin

(Hernando) Jeanette McCants (Hernando) Paula Gaustad (Hernando)

Peggy Prebble (Hernando) Rodney Lane (Hernando)

Travis Pantiel (Hernando) Victoria Groeger (Hernando)

Julie Taylor (Lake) Donna Flores (Marion)

Ozzie Edwards (Marion)

If you see them in the course

of your volunteerism, please

welcome them.

On Saturday, May 19th,

a group of GAL volun-

teers as well as office

staff gathered at Delta

Woods in Spring Hill to

hold a “Celebration of

Life” picnic lunch to

honor the memory of Case

Coordinator, Christine

Morrison. Christine’s hus-

band and mother were in

attendance.

It was a beautiful summer

day where we all gathered to

honor Chris and all she

meant to our program. The

afternoon ended with pink,

lilac, and white balloons scat-

tered to the sky as our way

of saying thank you to Chris

for all she meant not only to

all of us, but to the children

she served as well.

Peg Donovan

“A child mis-

educated is a

child lost.”

John F. Kennedy

Hon. Judge Barbara Gurrola

swearing in ceremony

GAL volunteers in training

DON’T FORGET TO PATRONIZE THOSE

SUPPORTERS RECOGNIZED IN OUR NEWSLETTER

Many wonderful local businesses and organizations support our GAL efforts in many ways throughout the year. You can help us recognize their contributions by saying thank you when you visit their business and enjoy their services.

Local businesses and GALP -

Partners in our efforts to help our children in need.

The-Florida-Statewide-Guardian-ad-

Litem-Program Is on Facebook

P A G E 4

“Act as if what you

do makes a

difference. It

does.”

William James

Starting with this quar-

terly newsletter issue,

we are very pleased to

recognize our out-

standing FCM for

Marion County:

Jessica Webster

5 T H C I R C U I T G A L

Outstanding FCMs - Extraordinary People Because of Jessica’s

professional perfor-

mance and solid collab-

oration with her GALs,

cases that could have

resulted in negative

outcomes for the fami-lies actually resulted in

very positive outcomes

for all involved - and

the children have been

reunited with their

parents.

“Professionalism, great

attitude and excellent

communication charac-

terize Jessica.“

Marcia Hilty

Jessica has been an

FCM for almost two

years, having worked

as a dispatcher in law

enforcement prior to

joining The Centers.

Always proactive, and

responding quickly to

phone calls and emails,

Jessica has been work-

ing with her GALs on

several extremely diffi-

cult cases this past

year, that required

constant vigilance to

ensure consistent

headway with both

children and their par-

ents. Jessica Webster

Meryl Trahant Winner of Award I’m pleased to

announce

Meryl

Trahant, 5th

Circuit

Guardian ad Litem volun-

teer and DVRAC co-

chair has not only been

selected as our State-

wide nominee for

Community Advocate

for the year, she has

been selected by the

Points of Light

Foundation as a

Celebrity Cruise Award

Winner from its National

Volunteer Week cam-

paign!

Cabot Creamery, a 1,200

farm family dairy cooper-

ative since 1919, with

mem-

bers in

New England and Up-

state New York, has

joined the Points of Light

Foundation in this na-

tional recognition of out-

standing community vol-

unteers.

Cabot’s announcement

explained further: “Based

on the exemplary contribu-

tion that you have made in

your state, Cabot Creamery

and Celebrity Cruises®,

along with Points of Light

have named you a 2012

Cabot Community Celebrity

Award Winner.”

As an

award

winner, Meryl and a

guest will join 40 other

2012 Cabot Community

Celebrity Award winners

from major U.S. cities for

a seven-night, all-expense

-paid cruise for two with

air on Celebrity Cruises.

“This is our chance to

honor you for all you

have done,” said a

Cabot official.

Please join me in con-

gratulating Meryl on her

well-earned recognition.

Way to go, Meryl!

Marcia Hilty

Meryl Trahant

Voices For Children & The Villages Hook Up!

P A G E 5 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

“We can do no

great things, only

small things with

great love.”

Mother Teresa

With the help of several

Village Guardians and the

support of local clubs, such

as the Quilters Guild, the

Photography Club and The

Villages Crafters, as well as

local businesses and res-

taurants, more than 200

Village residents attended

the event and we were

able to raise $3900.

Because of the favorable

response, this will be-

come an annual event to

be held in April, Child

Abuse Prevention Month.

Helen Peek

What a Successful

TRIVIA NIGHT Looks Like:

On April 14th, 2012, Voices

for Children held its first

fundraiser at The Villages.

VOICES is considering

sponsoring a cruise to

Alaska next year if there

is enough interest. The

trip would include travel

by air from Tampa to Se-

attle, with a 7-day cruise

to Alaskan ports. The ap-

proximate cost will be

about $1200. If you would like to be on the mailing

list for further details

when they become availa-

ble, please e-mail Helen

Peek at

LJPeek@aol.com,

with the word CRUISE

in the subject line.

Helen Peek President

funds for the children our GALs serve. For tickets or to donate

an item for the event please call 352-484-

0319 x1, 352-362-5851 or

352-601-011

The event will be held at the American Legion in Dunnellon and will in-

clude dinner donated by Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille, door prizes, many silent auction items and a spirited game of trivia. Tickets are $25.00 per person. Please join us for this fun evening to raise

Voices for Children

is hosting Trivia

Challenge #3 on

September 29th.

VOICES - Trivia Challenge Cruise 2013?

P A G E 6

Around the Circuit - Marion County

Around the Circuit - Citrus County COLD NOSE,

WARM HEART

We’re going to shift

gears here and talk about

advocating for children

from a different point of

view: a four-legged one

that is!

Most children

like dogs. A

friendly dog is

a warm, non-

judgmental

companion

that they can

bond with easi-

ly and quickly.

Now, our

courts can use this natu-

ral child-dog bond to

help comfort children in

their care, thanks to the

efforts of a new local

organization.

Courtroom Dogs for

Kids, Inc.

(www.courtroomdogsfor

kidsinc.com) is a non-

profit agency established

in 2010 by Joanne Peters.

It is dedicated to provid-

ing registered and

trained therapy dogs to

comfort and calm chil-

dren whose testimony is

necessary, whether in a

courtroom, deposition,

or some other setting.

The organization has an

expanding group of dogs

and handlers; any candi-

date dog or handler must

pass a thorough back-

ground check, and re-

ceive extensive training.

Of course, the use of

dogs is not always suita-

ble: Some children may

be fearful of dogs; oth-

ers, allergic. But for so

many children, they can

be magic.

Barry Foy

ence with the Sickle Cell

Foundation, LaVetta is

also able to bring

healthcare provider and

delivery processes ex-

pertise to her new posi-

tion.

Welcome to the 5th

Circuit Guardian ad

Litem Program, LaVetta!

During the early month

of June, the Marion

County Office hosted a

circuit-wide quality im-

provement audit. Advo-

cacy teams, including the

Volunteer, Best Interest

Attorney and Child

Advocacy Coordinator

presented two cases for

review. The audit team,

which consisted of our

Regional Director and

Legal Counsel and a

Circuit Director and

Child Advocacy

Coordinator from a

nearby program, re-

viewed files and listened

to case presentations.

The results of the audit

were very favorable. The

reviewers found that we

are providing strong legal

and non-legal advocacy

and have developed pro-

cesses and procedures

worthy of duplication.

Marcia Hilty

Please join me in wel-

coming LaVetta

Waters-Jacobs to our

team.

LaVetta, a

CCI, who

is assigned

to Marion

County,

brings a

wealth of

experi-

ence to

the posi-

tion. Having previously

worked for DJJ, she has

case management, report

writing and courtroom

experience.

Because of her experi-

5 T H C I R C U I T G A L

“The

willingness to

share does not

make one

charitable; it

makes one

free.”

Robert Brault

Wolf

Joanne Peters with Wolf

LaVetta Jacobs

Rosie sharing a moment with a child

Around the Circuit - Lake County

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

Lake County Volunteer

of the Year:

Bill Deschenes

Bill Deschenes has been a

tremendously valuable GAL

in Lake County since

October of 2008. In these

three plus years, he has

gone above and beyond the

call of duty many times

while advocating for13 chil-

dren. Currently he has six

children on his case load.

Bill always represents the

children’s wishes and always

remembers that their best

interest is first and fore-

most. Even when his chil-

dren are placed out of state,

he still maintains telephone

contact.

This Guardian ad Litem is

also instrumental in assisting

with the Christmas gifts for

approximately 100 children

in Lake County. He not only

is the liaison with the associ-

ation donating the gifts, but

he manages to get all gifts to

the office in a timely manner

- and even helps pull it all

together for distribution.

It is with great honor that

we recognize Bill Deschenes

as our Lake County

Volunteer Guardian Ad

Litem of the Year.

Kim Goldman

Successful GAL Quilt Donation 2012

“Wherever a

man turns he

can find

someone who

needs him.”

Albert

Schweitzer

Bill Deschenes

Shockley Quilters of

Altoona

“I decided a few years back to involve the Lake County Quilters in a dona-tion of quilts. As I am only

here 6 months of the year, I got a small group in

Shockley Heights together and we decided to make quilts to assist the children involved with GAL. Keep-ing us updated, Murray McMahon and his wife Marilyn come up to our area periodically to let us know what is going on with GAL.

Each year, our group gets together in mid December to decide the style of do-nated fabric we take

home, in order to make the “tops” of our quilt designs. We then come together to “tie the quilts” and to solve

any quilting problems we may have. We purchase the batting ourselves, but as a small group we are able to complete and donate at least 12 quilts a year.

Myself, I make quilts for teens, as there is a need for quilts for the bigger kids. And as a treat to ourselves, we go out for lunch after dropping off the quilts at the Tavares GAL office. We really enjoy making and donating these small tokens of our hope for the children, as they are our future.”

Anne McKenzie

(Top L-R) LuAnna Marx, Marcine Geiger, Alice Ann Ferderber (Bottom L-R) Ann McKinzie and Carol Reams

P A G E 8

“The difference

between a helping

hand and an

outstretched palm

is a twist of the

wrist.”

Laurence Leamer

Florida State

capitol building

Reaching Out Through Billboards

Legislative Update

SB 1960, which was unani-

mously supported by both

the Florida House and

Senate and fully endorsed

by Governor Rick Scott,

goes into effect July 1,

2012. This legislation allows

volunteers to assume the

added responsibility to

transport children to plac-

es, activities and events that

were previously out of

reach or simply denied, The

Transportation Program,

which began as a pilot pro-

ject in 2011, has been

hailed by participants as a

commonsense way to en-

hance children’s lives.

“Since I began transporting

the five children assigned to

me, I have become more

than a volunteer, a person

who visits monthly and

advocates for them in

court.” said Joe Ward, a

GAL volunteer. “You can

see it in their eyes and

smiles. I’m someone, who

through this seemingly in-

consequential action, has

conveyed their importance

and brought them happi-

ness. These kids deserve

these kinds of experiences.

They are very apprecia-

tive.”

Tom Greenaway, resident

of The Villages and one of

the first Guardian ad Litem

volunteers to receive ap-

proval to transport his chil-

dren, said the opportunity

has been life-changing for

both him and his child.

“The young man to whom

I’m assigned is happier than

he used to be. He’s more

confident in himself and this

has improved how he inter-

acts with others. This is

very fulfilling. It gives me a

greater sense of accom-

plishment and purpose.”

For an application or more

information on the

Transportation Project,

contact your Case

Coordinator or Verna Wall

at (352)-671-5752 or via

email at

Verna.Wall@gal.fl.gov

.

Committee - Meryl Trahant

has negotiated a significant,

discounted agreement with

ClearChannel Outdoor, to

display our key messages of

Volunteerism and Train-

ing at key, high traffic loca-

tions throughout the Fifth

Circuit.

Through the creative hard

work of our Florida Fifth

Judicial Circuit,

Director’s Volunteer

Recruitment Advisory

5 T H C I R C U I T G A L

Legislation Recognizes Guardian ad Litem Program’s

Authority to Transport Children

P A G E 9 V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 3

terms, abbreviations and ac-

ronyms listed. We will peri-

odically update these and

make them available to you.

In the meantime, two recent

titles were updated that war-

rant your attention:

Case Coordinator - CC is

now being referred to as

Child Advocacy Coordinator

- CAC

It’s tough understanding and

keeping up with all the acro-

nyms, titles and abbrevia-

tions within our dependency

court and GAL Program. Just

when you feel you have it all

down pat—ugh, we change it

on you.

Many of you routinely refer

to your original training sylla-

bus which has many of the

- and -

Our GAL Attorney is

now being referred as

Best Interest Attorney.

We’ll do our best to keep

you updated as our no-

menclature changes!

Titles, Acronyms & Abbreviations - confusing?

“Pretty much

all the honest

truth telling

there is in the

world is done

by children.”

Oliver Wendell

Holmes

cases with 31 children, so

far, in her seven years with

us. Currently, Pat is an

Ambassador, traveling near

and far, with little notice to

meet and greet our new de-

pendency kids

Wanda Vogler: Not only

was Wanda select-

ed as Statewide

nominee for

Volunteer of the

Year, she is the

Go To person for

any GALs with

computer issues

and that includes

this Staff! She de-

veloped a Power

Point to help Vol-

unteers write

credible Judicial

Reviews and simplified a

daunting child visitation

form. In addition to all this,

Wanda manages all the in-

coming courtesy requests

and cases. She assigns them

and coordinates the flow of

information back to the re-

questing County.

Adding to our celebra-

tion, we were very

pleased to recognize

Jerry Williams as the

Outstanding Volunteer

for Sumter County and

Donna Fruzia as

Outstanding Community

Advocate.

Congratulations to all of

you for your tremendous

efforts on behalf of our

community and GALP.

Bob McIntyre

Sumter County GAL

recently recognized four

exceptional GALs

Tommy Greenaway:

Tom has been a CASA/GAL

child advocate in three

states, California, Tennessee

and Florida, over a period of

several years including seven

with us. Tom keeps in touch

with all of “his kids” from

years past who frequently

initiate the contact with him.

His dependency family keeps

on growing, 16 children at

last count.

Michael Harris: Michael

has been a faithful GAL in

Sumter for nine years. As a

Master Gardener, Michael

has worked at youth gardens

and developed a rapport

with the children. He taught

school for 32 years, in which

capacity he echoed part of

his GAL credo: “to help a

defenseless child become a

productive citizen.”

Patricia Kerans: Pat is a

veteran GAL, having had 12

Around the Circuit - Sumter County

Wanda Vogler

P A G E 1 0

Fifth Circuit Staff

Marcia Hilty

Circuit Director

Teresa Ashcraft

Assistant Circuit Director

Brad Bobbitt

Supervising Attorney

Lynn Sennett

Recruiter/Trainer

Newsletter Team Marcia Hilty - Director

Bob Seitz - Executive Editor

Tom Greenaway - Editor

Pam Barsness - Associate Editor

Bureau Chiefs/Contributors:

Collins Conner

Peg Donovan

Barry Foy

Kim Goldman

Bob McIntyre

Helen Peek

Lynn Sennett

Meryl Trahant

Wanda Vogler

Office Locations

Marion County

110 N. Magnolia Ave

Ocala, FL 34475

Tel. (352) 671-5757

Fax (352) 671-5758

Lake County

418 W. Alfred St., Suite 7

Tavares, FL 32778

Tel. (352) 742-3825

Fax (352) 343-0257

Sumter County

115 N. Florida St.

Bushnell, FL 33513

Tel. (352) 569-6980

Citrus County

110 N. Apopka Ave,

Inverness, FL 34450

Tel. (352) 344-1147

Fax (352) 344-1454

Hernando County

20 N. Main St.

Brooksville, FL 34601

Tel. (352) 200-8887

Fax (352) 200-8887

http://www.guardianadlitem.org

GAL STAFF DIRECTORY

READERS

WE WANT TO

HEAR FROM

YOU !

Was the con-

tent of this issue

of interest to you?

What do you

want to see more

of?

What do you

want to see less

of?

Drop us an

email to let us

know how we’re

communicating:

bobseitz.robert@gmail.com