There are over 100 children in Florence County that have either been neglected or abused, said Florence County G.A.L. Case Manager, Suzanne West.
“A Guardian ad Litem is someone who is the voice of a child in a family court proceeding that is involved with the department of social services, said West.”
Staff members sometimes have to go to court hearings, especially when the child has to appear in court before a judge.
“When the family court judge swears in new volunteers, he lets them know that he is counting on them. Their testimony and recommendation for these children are vitally important.”
West says in Florence County many cases are generational of abuse and neglect.
“Parents have a lot of addiction issues and the high percentage of neglect and abuse is directly related to drugs and alcohol.”
She adds, the Guardian ad Litem program in Florence County is serving about 115 children.
That is about 10-15 cases a month and at least 3 cases a week.
The program in Florence currently has 35 active volunteers.
Since there are not enough volunteers currently in the program, West and other are asking for the community’s help.
“All of these children in Florence county needs someone to stand in the gap, stand up for them and be that voice.”
“No child should ever be abused or neglected, but unfortunately too many are so it’s important for people to come by and be that voice, because if you can get normalcy to that child then that child has a chance of achieving whatever his dreams and goals are, said Fred Dowling an active volunteer with Florence County’s Guardian ad Litem program.”
Contact Florence County Guardian ad Litem office at 843-669-7940 or visit the website at www.scgal.org. A free training is scheduled for April 16 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
