Voices For Children Of Tampa Bay Inc

Programs: Provide support and advocacy for the abused, neglected and abandoned children of hillsborough county, through our partnership with the guardian ad litem program of hillsborough county. Typically, we fund four programs: children's needs fund, legal needs fund, courthouse facility dog program and recruit/retain program for gal volunteers. The goal of our children's needs fund is simple: provide items and experiences for the children in the dependency court system so they can feel as "normal" as possible while they are in foster care. Summer camps for siblings, (see schedule o, page 36, for continuation) football cleats, high school year books, and prom accessories are a few examples of how we help. Our legal needs fund ensures that all due diligence is completed in order for the child to be placed in a stable and safe environment. The gal attorney team works hard to ensure the child's best interests are met. This may include obtaining hospital records, serving subpoenas, and even utilizing expert testimony during trials. Our courthouse facility dog, tibet, helps to champion justice by providing emotional support for the traumatized children during stressful and difficult trial proceedings. Our courthouse dog program has helped other organizations such as the fbi and homeland security by comforting victims as they re-live their trauma. A guardian ad litem volunteer is the constant supporter in these children's lives. Assigned by a judge to a case, children who have a gal volunteer: do better in school, are 50% less likely to return to foster care, have fewer placement changes, and receive more services that will help them achieve a more normal lifestyle as they move through the foster care system.