The Advocate

PARTNERS EDITION

Issue 25 | January 2023

A Message from

the State Child Advocate

Amanda F. Whittle, JD, CWLS

I am grateful to share with you the January 2023 edition of the Department of Children's Advocacy's newsletter.

This month, our agency participated in interagency staffings, multi-disciplinary meetings, and court hearings to advocate for children and youth in our state. In addition, the first regular session of the 125th South Carolina General Assembly convened on Tuesday, January 10. I presented the agency’s FY24 budget to the House Ways and Means Healthcare subcommittee and Senate Finance Health and Human Services subcommittee. On January 31, I participated alongside DJJ Director Eden Hendrick, DHHS Director Robbie Kerr, and DMH Acting Director Bob Bank in the State Fiscal Accountability Authority (SFAA) meeting concerning a state-operated Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) for seriously mentally ill, justice-involved youth.

Our team continues to expand, and in this issue you will meet several new employees who will help us better fulfill our mission. Among those we are excited to bring onboard is Melissa Pettinato-Irby, our new assistant child advocate, who will help us better respond to the rapidly rising number of critical incident reports we receive.

You will also learn about the unique approach some Continuum of Care staff have taken to literally show the positive progress their youth and families are making.

Our Guardian ad Litem program recently completed the last of its regional trainings for staff and volunteers. We are grateful for the guests who joined us to provide presentations. Plus we highlight new training opportunities for the GAL program and share news about an upcoming Heart Gallery video series.

Have an item you'd like to share? Please send us your questions, concerns, and recommendations for future newsletters. We'd love to hear from you.

Movers and Shakers

Help us welcome the newest members of our team!

Continuum of Care

IT Business Analyst III

Greta May

Greta May started on December 19. She has been in the information technology field for more than 20 years and comes to us from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

She enjoys sports, arcade games, crossword puzzles, movies, skating, and traveling, as well as spending time with family and friends. She has participated in many school organizations and community projects.

Greta is excited to be working for and learning more about Children’s Advocacy.

Children's Advocacy

Assistant Child Advocate

Melissa Pettinato-Irby

Melissa Pettinato-Irby started on January 3. She expands the System Improvement team and will help the DCA to better meet the demands of the growing number of reported critical incidents.

Melissa lives in Duncan, South Carolina, and obtained her bachelor's in criminal justice from USC Upstate. She is currently in graduate school for her Master of Social Work.

Melissa is an advocate for children and believes that all children should have a good quality of life. When not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, art, and music.

Foster Care Review

Program Coordinator I

Jaclyn Petry

Jaclyn Petry started on January 17. She is originally from New York and has been in the Midlands since 2021. She has two dogs and a cat and is planning to get chickens come spring.

Jaclyn has a bachelor's in business and psychology from Stony Brook University. She has worked as a paralegal and was with DSS prior to coming to the Department of Children’s Advocacy.

Jaclyn enjoys reading, doing yard work, and going to Myrtle Beach to see family. She is excited to start her journey with the Department of Children’s Advocacy and Foster Care Review.

Continuum of Care

COC staff helps families create a vision for the future

Linda Williams, wraparound team lead for Region B in the Upstate, has a unique way of connecting with her families and showing the progress they are making on their High Fidelity Wraparound journey.

She takes the "Family Vision" statement the family has created and adds it to a drawing of a house.

During the monthly meetings, "youth draw a flower in the garden to reflect the progress they have made, and over time, they can see how far they have come by the many flowers in the garden," says Williams. "I hope when they look at it, they see that what was once just a house is now surrounded by beauty and has become a welcoming home."

Read the full story

Guardian ad Litem

Welcome to Our Newest GAL Volunteers

York County begins 2023 with seven new volunteers who were sworn in on January 12.

Joseph Becker

Joan Braden

Tracy Braido

Kathryn Fincher

Eric Giavedoni

Delandris Jones

Malgorzata "Margaret" Radziszewska

Guardian ad Litem Training Opportunity

The University of South Carolina Children's Law Center is offering training exclusively for all current GAL volunteers and staff on Friday, Feb. 24 from 9 am - 12 noon.

A panel of experts from DDSN, DJJ, DMH, and DSS will focus on the complexities and challenges of placing and caring for youth and families involved with multiple agencies.

In-person or virtual options available to suit your schedule.

REGISTER

Questions?

Contact Charlestina Butler about registration or Kathryn Woodward regarding the training.

GAL Regional Conferences: Reunite and Recharge

During January, the Guardian ad Litem program held in-person regional conferences for the first time since the pandemic began. The long-awaited events were aimed at helping staff and volunteers reconnect and recharge. Each day-long conference featured guest speakers and training sessions to increase attendees' knowledge and skills that will help them better advocate for the children they serve.

GAL Day with the Stingrays

The Guardian ad Litem program was recognized as the Community Nonprofit of the Game at the South Carolina Stingrays hockey game in Charleston on January 15.

Staff and volunteers had a table outside the rink where they were able to speak with fans, share how GALs make a difference, and recruit new volunteers to join the team. Of course, attendees were also able to to hang out, have fun, and watch an exciting game.

Pictured (l to r) are: Roanna Miller (Charleston staff), Taylor Rumble (Charleston GAL), Elizabeth Bryant (Berkeley staff), David McAlhaney (Charleston staff), Abi Luftig (Dorchester staff), Sheila Russell (Charleston GAL), and Greg Stephens (Florence GAL).

SC Heart Gallery

Meet Raiden D.

Photo credit: PinckChair Photography, 2022

Raiden D., enjoys playing with colorful toys. He likes things that have texture, and he enjoys putting things in his mouth.

Raiden would do well in a home with easy accessibility and plenty of attention. He has not spent time around pets.

Raiden loves to play with colorful, noisy toys. He enjoys lots of sensory objects, like things with texture or things he can chew on.

To inquire about adopting Raiden, or any of the other Heart Gallery children, visit scheartgallery.sc.gov.

Lights, Camera, Action...

On Jan. 13, the SC Heart Gallery held its first video shoot with Grant Me Hope to create recruitment videos for legally free children in South Carolina. The shoot was held at Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

Stay tuned for where you can soon watch the new videos. Here's to their success and their ability to find forever homes for these incredible children!

(l to r) Corlette Minor, Christina Grant, and Skylar Ackerson at the Roper Center.

In between takes, staff and the children had an opportunity to explore the center, and it's safe to say staff members Christina Grant, Corlette Minor, and Skylar Ackerson had as much fun as the children taking part that day.

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