Florida Guardian ad Litem joins partners for Prevent Child Abuse Month

Press release from Florida Guardian ad Litem

April is Prevent Child Abuse Month, and the Florida Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program will join its partner agencies, nonprofits, civic groups, and others to raise awareness about protecting children. 

Our mission is to represent abused, abandoned, and neglected children in dependency court. By the time we are involved in a case, it is usually too late to prevent trauma to a child. However, we know that prevention education helps keep children from coming into the system in the first place, and we believe in it strongly.

At Guardian ad Litem, we advocate through a multidisciplinary team that includes an attorney, a social worker, and a volunteer who specializes in that child. We train our volunteers to understand the effects of trauma on children – to be the stable, caring adults in the lives of traumatized kids. In the short term, we help them find safe and loving homes. In the long term, we are trying to interrupt the cycle and prevent child abuse in the next generation and beyond.

Child abuse and neglect hurt all of us. Trauma puts children at higher risk for psychological and behavioral challenges – and it puts their families and communities at risk as well. But consistent and effective prevention strategies are proven to save children’s lives and give them a better chance at a better life. 

GAL participates Child Abuse Prevention Month to create a culture in which more people protect more children. That’s why we work each year with the Governor’s Office, the Department of Children and Families, Prevent Child Abuse Florida, and many, many others. We need everyone in this struggle.

To learn more about becoming a Guardian ad Litem volunteer, please call 1-866-341-1425 or visit www.guardianadlitem.org.