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PAGE 8B - FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunday, March 21,2004 / Visitation program is in need of volunteer observers By Harris Blackwood Community Editor There are over 120 chil dren who have been removed from their homes in Forsyth County and placed in foster care, according to Juvenile Court Judge Russell Jackson. For Jackson, the goal when possible is to return the chil dren to their home setting. “We traumatize children when we remove them from their parents, even when it is necessary to do so for their safety.” said Jackson. “The children, as well as the parents need to know that the other is still there and still 1 cares about < them. < Otherwise, we end up doing more damage to the child and tzx tkn We need people who have a love for children and want to help children and families. •Judge Russell Jackson. ickirs ♦Lx<» ♦ iilt< to the relationship that ulti mately we hope to restore.” The Juvenile Court, along with the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center, has been awarded a grant to conduct a family visitation program. The program takes place on Saturdays at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit on Pilgrim Mill Road. The children and parents meet at the church for a one hour supervised visit. The vis itation takes place in a church Sunday School room which has a child-friendly setting. Presently, only six children and parents may visit at a time. A trained volunteer observ er is in the room with parent and child and takes notes on the child and parental reac tions during the visit. Such details as eye and physical contact, and emotional reac tions are noted on a observa tion report that is turned in to a supervisor. The program's most urgent I Double Coupons, I I ® Double Savings! ■ We double manufacturer coupons up to and including 50( every day. . .» Some restrictions apply. Set store for details. Publix * ■ Mb Where shopping is a pleasure* w Visit our website at wvvw publix com V ■CI? I /199/MUk. I / i/vrv See What 1c Gets! C* KD RE Qo.'- f I I B B ■ B I ring this Myxu-n Coupon to your II M 8 H llt jX- J y ■ I ■■ I neighborhood Publix on March 20 Hi //> X. Bi ■' f jE B I B I & 21,2004 and find out what \WKIwJ DAnakce 9l9Hi V/ one penny gets you! Duneiess <»<h»j with purchase <>tsio <»r V I * I M •*- bjfsh excluding alcohol products, monev lop jirlOin Jl6cllC |fl orders, postage Stamps, gift certificates d Fr n z J n z DvAmnatM J and prescriptions)at participatingPublix [ Publix Premium Certified Beef, WMlUffWr ; stores in GA. AL, SC and TN on USDA Choice, Beef Loin Ci " ! March 20 & 21.2004 only. /j ' Limit one deal per coupon per frff wewnrurter „ , z,, c | customer. Customer responsible Prices Effective Prices Effective Wednesday, March 17 f /«”’ I ! ■ ,PPl ' t3b ' C “ X “’ through Wednesday, March 24,2004. through Tuesday, March 23,2004. resh I rom Central Honda, ] Only m Cobb. Gwinnett. Fulton. DeKalb. Clayton, Cherokee. Only in Clarke. Muscogee. Coweta. Rock,Die. Troup. Carroll, 16-OZpkg. (32-OZ pkg. ... 3.99) I__ !-! ML’. . 1 Greene Douglas. Hall. Fayette, Henry. Paulding. Forsyth Oconee. Bartow and Newton Counties and The Winder Corners and Walton Counties and The Vineyards Publix Location. Publix Location. Quantity Rights Reserved. I I I fwßysS £*-!Ka I I vEmhl I Buy One Get One Buy One Get One Z~\ J 99ZY FREE FREE - 400 +/SOO 599 I I Nabisco Post Cereal ~ I OreO COOkieS Assorted Varieties, Skippy I Healthy Choice I Tide Laundry Honey Bunches of Oats, n f . 7 Assorte f 'Vweties, selects, Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles, PeanUt Blitter Familiar DeterOeilt I w-X™ 'Snack Bars Favorites w™ I selected advertised varieties.) Shredded Wheat, Assorted Varieties, Assorted Varieties, Powder'Bl to 87-oz box 16.4 to 20-oz box 6.3 to 8-oz box 6 to 10-oz pkg. need is for additional volun teers. “We need people who have a love for children and want to help children and families.” said Jackson. Volunteers must be 21 and pass a criminal background check, including fingerprint ing. Then, they must com plete a four-hour training ses sion conducted by the Child Advocacy Center. "We will teach them what we are trying to accomplish with the visitation center," said Jackson. “They will be taught about the child deprivation process that brings children into care and why that hap pens.” There are a number of visi tation programs in place across the state. In Fulton County, there are six visitation sites which, like Forsyth, operate in churches. "We do this on Saturday for the convenience of the birth parents," said Lynn Stewart, program coordinator for the visitation center. "DFACS (Department of Family and Children Services) has 8 to 5 hours, Monday through Friday and many par ents have to work. They are only allowed by law to visit for two hours per month.” Stewart called the church setting a neutral and loving environment, as opposed to the institutional setting of the DFACS office, which is the place where the first separa tion may have occurred. "The volunteers treat the parents with dignity and respect and want to see them succeed." The number of children that have been removed from their parents has more than doubled in the past year and Jackson does not see the num- ber declining in the foresee able future. The children placed in foster care come from a cross-section of socioe conomic backgrounds. They include children of a number of professionals. "The drug problem, partic ularly the methamphetamine problem cuts across all lines," said Stewart. “You normally see four areas where the family dynam ics begin breaking down," said Michelle Edwards, executive director of the Child Advocacy Center. “It has to do with men tal dysfunction, family vio lence, low IQ, and drug abuse.” “The primary cause of the case coming to light tends to be drug abuse,” said Jackson, who said that many of the characteristics can be seen within the family. Jackson said that a lack of volunteers has resulted in the program being curtailed or canceled on some Saturdays. In addition to the observers, volunteers serve as greeters to welcome the par ents or the children, who enter the church building at separate entrances. Other volunteers monitor time and serve as escorts for the participants to and from the visitation site. During warmer weather, parents can take their children on supervised visits to a play ground on the church property. The program is being fund ed through a grant from the Safe and Stable Families pro gram administered by the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Matching local funds are being provided by the Forsyth County Commission and Northside Hospital Forsyth. Persons interested in becoming a volunteer can obtain information about upcoming training sessions by calling the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center at 678-208-1908. „ —iSBBr--— t r—i I ■ 9 |1 A 9 Kk Photo/David McGregor The Family Visitation Program has found a home but is in urgent need of volunteers. Pictured in the visitation center are. from left, Pat Plant, program administrator; Lynn Stewart, program coordinator, Russell Jackson, Juvenile Court judge, and Michelle Edwards, executive director.