If you have a heard to help kids in need, there is a way that you could help to ensure they have an advocate through court and custody process.  You could be a guardian ad litem. 

I saw this story from the Couer d'Alene Press and it caught my eye because this is something my Aunt had done some years ago.  Prior to her decision to serve in this capacity, I had never heard of it before.

If you're in a similar place, a guardian ad litem (or sometimes known as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA) is assigned by a judge (once the candidate has completed training), and serves as an advocate solely looking at for and representing the needs of a child in foster care or inside public welfare systems.

They will appear in court, interface with the family and or caretakers, and serve as the main "voice" for the interest of the child.

In Southern Idaho, we don't have enough guardian ad litems ready to go to be paired with kids inside the systems.  The programs that train and prepare them need both more people to step up and more funding to get it done.

You can see more on the problem, and potential solutions, from the Couer d'Alene Press.

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