Last week, I attended the first continuing legal education class offered by the newly-created Child Protection & Advocacy section of the State Bar of Georgia, titled “Show Me the Money! Financial and Other Resources for Georgia’s Children.”
The training brought together
child advocates, case workers, attorneys, guardians ad litem, and policy makers
to outline how foster parents, adoptive parents, appointed
advocates, and others can access governmental funding to help the children in
Georgia who have special needs, are living in poverty, or do not have permanent
homes. These needs can include food, mental health services, a place to live, or cash payments for medical equipment.
As a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) who
frequently conducts custody investigations pro bono to qualified low-income
families via the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation and the DeKalb Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, I have been amazed at the resilience of some of the
children I have interviewed, despite the crushing poverty around them. I have also seen how something small like a
little financial help or the presence of a committed mentor can be a game changer in redirecting the course of their
lives.
The Georgia Family Connection Partnership has published a guide that outlines the forms of federal funding
available to low-income children and their families. Communities seeking
statistics and data to support their grant-writing efforts can contact GFCP for empirical data to support their grant proposals.
If you are adopting from foster
care, or if your child is disabled and cannot work, or if you know a child who needs
prescriptions, health insurance, or medical treatment, there may be funds
available.
