16 Volunteer Guardians ad Litem Sworn into Lexington Family Court

From the Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem Program:

Sixteen volunteer guardians ad litem were sworn in by Judge Kellum Allen Wednesday in a ceremony at the Lexington County Courthouse, officially signaling the volunteers’ commitment to advocating for children in court.

“We could not function without volunteers,” Judge Kellum Allen told the group. “It really does take a village.”

A child advocate, or guardian ad litem as it's called in South Carolina, is a volunteer trained to become the voice of a child in court. The guardian ad litem program pairs the trained volunteer with children involved in neglect and abuse cases in order to give family court judges a more complete picture of the children’s needs.

“You are not only providing a service to the court system – you are a tremendous service to all of Lexington County,” Judge Allen said.

The volunteer training program focuses on the family court system, how to recognize abuse and neglect, and how to communicate with children and others involved in the case. Each case takes a commitment of about four to six hours per month, but program organizers say volunteers are often the only source of stability for children who regularly move to different foster homes, transfer to new schools, change case workers and often lose contact with friends and extended family members.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer or want to sign up for the class, visit lexington.scgal.org or call 803-957-6484.

The Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem Program is a division of the S.C. Governor's Office of Executive Policy and Programs and a member of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association.

New volunteers are:

• Angela Jones 
• Sandra Nates  
• Michelle Sims 
• Maria Harper 
• Lisa Hansen 
• Annemarie Canova 
• Pamela Martin 
• Alexander Aivazis 
• Jennifer Miller 
• James Lewis 
• Maureen Taylor 
• Deborah Teer 
• Mona Strickland 
• Shayna Scialabba 
• Roselyne Thomas
• Pamela Mele