The Advocate - Feb 2024

The Advocate

PARTNERS EDITION

Issue 37 | February 2024

A Message from

the State Child Advocate

Amanda F. Whittle, JD, CWLS

Thank you for reading our February issue of The Advocate. We have hit the ground running in 2024, and I am delighted to share those stories with you, including an update on our FY25 budget request that will help us meet the growing need for services across the state.

For instance, did you know that at the end of FY23, GAL had served more than 14,000 children, but only 52% of those cases were handled by volunteers? Staff took on the remaining cases, and we hope to alleviate this burden by increasing the size of our team. And that is just one of our agency priorities.

We also recognized one of our regional trainers who recruited a record number of GAL volunteers last year.

Speaking of new volunteers, we recently welcomed 10 new GALs, two promotions, one new staff member, and one new Foster Care Review state board member. We also highlight the accomplishments of two other state board members.

GAL and FCRD both started off the year with new training initiatives, including an all-day “Better Advocates, Better Outcomes” conference for GALs and a new monthly Lunch and Learn series for FCR board members to increase their knowledge of the many facets of the foster care system.

Finally, we share with you how our Continuum of Care division went out of its way to supply a Christmas tree to a family in need and built new community partnerships along the way.

All that and more can be found below. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue, and will share with us your thoughts and comments.

Movers and Shakers

As our team grows, so do the opportunities to improve the lives of all children in South Carolina.

Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem

County Director, Newberry

Tiauni McElveen

Tiauni McElveen began her new position as the director of the Newberry County GAL office on January 8 after working as a program coordinator in the Chester/Fairfield office since May 2022. Born and raised in Newberry, South Carolina, she obtained her bachelor’s in sociology in 2018 from Francis Marion University and her master’s in social work in 2023 from Walden University.

Previously, she worked with the Department of Social Services as a foster case manager and supervisor. Tiauni has always been passionate about helping others and is dedicated to advocating for and empowering those in need.

Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem

County Director - Orangeburg/Calhoun

Topher Emmolo

Christopher “Topher” Emmolo started as the county director for the Orangeburg-Calhoun GAL office on January 17 after serving as a program coordinator for the Charleston office since June 2022. Topher has proven to be an invaluable and dedicated advocate for children. He has taken on some of Charleston County’s most difficult cases, as well as cases for other counties in the region.

Prior to joining the GAL Program, Topher was a chef for 12 years, running kitchens and opening restaurants. He even had his own mobile food cart! Additionally, he spent more than six years serving in various leadership roles with an all-volunteer organization dedicated to empowering abused children. It was that experience that gave Topher first-hand knowledge of how important it is for abused children to have a voice speaking on their behalf with only their best interests in mind.

Aside from his passion for helping abused children, Topher is a dedicated family man. If asked, he’ll tell you that by far his favorite job is being a father to his nine month old daughter and then happily show you a plethora of pictures.

Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem

Program Assistant - Aiken

Cynthia Wilson

Cynthia Wilson started on January 17. She holds a bachelor's degree in health administration from the University of Phoenix. Born in Tampa, Florida, Cynthia has lived most of her life in Aiken, South Carolina. She has spent many years volunteering in her communities both locally and nationwide, including five years with the American Red Cross, serving as a logistical lead, a home fire campaign lead and an administrative assistant. She assisted in seven disasters, received leadership awards, and was named the 2019 Volunteer of the Year. She also spent a year with NCCC AmeriCorps – FEMA Corps Program as a team leader and communications support team leader. She led a team through two major disasters and was awareded the Gold President's Volunteer Service Award and the Lifetime Award for more than 5,000 recorded volunteer hours.

Cynthia is mom to two children and in her spare time enjoys reading, puzzles, crocheting, and visiting national park (56 so far!). She has a passion for helping people in need and says she is blessed to have the opportunity to continue serving as a GAL.

Children’s Advocacy

FY25 Budget Update

Director Whittle presented the agency's FY25 budget request in January 2024 to the House Ways and Means Healthcare Subcommittee. The DCA requested $3.4M in recurring funds and $82,400 in non-recurring funds for the following priorities:

10 new FTE positions to help the investigations and critical investigations teams handle the dramatic rise in complaints and critical incident notifications with quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.

22 new FTE positions (21 for GAL and one for the Heart Gallery) to create sufficient capacity to provide quality best-interest advocacy and adoptive recruitment for abused and neglected children.

One new FTE position to be Senior Accountant/Fiscal Analyst for the agency concerning budgetary and program compliance and financial audits.

Licensing costs of Microsoft 365 products for all employees

Purchase of new workstations and equipment for new FTE positions.

2024 United Way Campaign

April and May are designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, respectively, and we wanted this year’s United Way campaign fundraiser to also raise awareness for these important issues.

But we need your help!

We are looking for crafty volunteers to create door hangers and/or wreaths for a silent auction, with auction proceeds going to the United Way. We plan to hold the silent auction at the State Office during the first week of April.

To be successful, we will need at least 15 wreaths donated. Doorhangers/wreaths can be created independently, as a team, or as an office and must be turned in by the end of March. More information about the campaign will be coming out as we approach the auction date.

If you would like to volunteer to donate a wreath for either of these months, please express your interest to Eden Everett.

Foster Care Review

New Training Opportunities for Board Members

The FCRD is kicking off a new virtual Lunch & Learn training series. The sessions are designed to give board members an opportunity to take part in mini-training sessions regarding different aspects of the child well-being system and services available to families. The inaugural training was held on January 26.

Board members are encouraged to attend the sessions, which are held on the last Friday of each month. The next session, coming up on February 23, will focus on family preservation.

Questions should be directed to Coretta Bush-Etheredge at coretta.bush-etheredge@childadvocate.sc.gov .

Kudos to our State Board Members

John seignious

Congratulations to John Seignious, who was appointed to the Foster Care Review State Board on February 6 by the South Carolina Senate. He currently serves on Charleston Board 09A. As a state board member, he will represent the 1st Congressional District.

Jane Daniel

Jane Daniel, a state board member representing the 4th Congressional District and local Greenville Board 13C, was honored on Dec. 8 by the Phoenix Center in Greenville, South Carolina, for her service to the community.

The center also unveiled a new program, Jane's Circle of Friends, which focuses on identifying and treating development delays in children that are related to a parent's substance use.

Daniel has served on the Greenville County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for almost 10 years and was successful in acquiring $6.2M from the SC Legislature in order to construct an adolescent residential facility. She was also integral in the co-location of NAMI Greenville, Mental Health America of Greenville County, and the Phoenix Center. This co-location of services at the Lottie Beal Gibson Center is an important step in removing barriers for individuals who have co-existing mental health and substance use issues.

George Jones

George Jones, a state board member representing the 3rd Congressional District and local Greenwood Board 08A, was honored for his dedication and commitment to the community of Greenwood County and the Greenwood County Library System by being named a member of the Library Board of Trustees. His name was also added to a plaque, along with the other trustees, on the side of the Greenwood library.

Working to Prevent Human Trafficking

Photo: (l to r) Nina Spinelli, FCRD, Chief Deputy Darlene Cook, Lt. Matt Davis, 1st Sgt. German Galarza (all with the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office), and Barnwell High School Principal Franklin McCormick.

Did you know that in South Carolina, youth in foster care

are the most vulnerable for being trafficked?

January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the Foster Care Review Division’s Nina Spinelli presented at a Human Trafficking Roundtable with the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office. The roundtable was hosted by the SC Attorney General's Human Trafficking Task Force.

The session provided an overview of the problem of trafficking in the area and an educational presentation about the signs of trafficking, provided by Lighthouse for Life, an SC-based nonprofit that seeks to eradicate human trafficking.

The SC Attorney General's office also shared details of their new program, TraffickProofSC, the first statewide prevention education curricula aimed at educating youth and families on the realities of human trafficking.

Watch WFXG - Fox Augusta’s Story

Help change a child’s life

There are more than 70 vacancies across the state’s 43 Foster Care Review Boards.

Board members meet once a month to advocate for children so they can find permanency and not linger in foster care.

Are you interested in making a difference for children in foster care in South Carolina?

You may be the perfect fit to serve on a

Foster Care Review Board!

Express your Interest

Continuum of Care

COC donates tree to family in need

The Midlands region of COC put up a Christmas tree in the lobby of their building, decorated with red lights and candy canes for all to enjoy. While it was there, Regional Program Director Debra King said they must have added more than 200 candy canes for passers-by to grab and enjoy.

But another tenant, Rev. B.J. Jones asked if he could borrow the tree to help a displaced family with four children. Jones's church was collecting donations for the family and hoped to have a tree to put them under on Christmas morning. COC went a step further and gave the tree to the family! King says she hopes the tree will give the family delight for many years to come.

Jones’s church has helped raise awareness for COC's work in supporting the needs of the families with whom they work.

Pictured left: Dr. Debra King and Reverend B.J. Jones with the donated Christmas tree.

SC Heart Gallery

Meet Maria O.

Photo credit: Claude Cumbee, 2023

Maria O. (born in 2013) is a very happy, bubbly, and outgoing child. She describes herself as cheerful, helpful, and kind. Maria enjoys traveling, soccer, dancing, and coloring, and says her special talent is drawing with her eyes closed. She likes school and says math is her favorite class, because it is easy. She wants to be a traveling nurse when she gets older, because she loves to help people and be a caretaker. Maria loves animals and hopes to live in the country so she can see deer. She says the desert is her favorite place, because she likes open spaces. If Maria could have any superpower, she would want to make people feel loved and be able to understand one another.

Watch her video

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

Guardian ad Litem

Setting a New Recruitment Record!

(l to r) Travis Shaffer, Lamia Elhag, Kathryn Clement, David McAlhaney, Roanna Miller, Kayley Rourke, and Jazmine Goodman.

The Charleston GAL office threw a surprise party for David McAlhaney, a regional recruiter trainer, on February 2.

And with his boyish charm and youthful appearance, it would be easy to assume it was for his 36th birthday.

But in fact, it was for setting a record high of 36 new GAL volunteers who completed their initial training in 2023. And that was only for Charleston County!

To put that in perspective, the county typically onboards ~20 new volunteers each year.

Congrats, David!

More than 200 volunteers and staff GALs attended a day of training to help them become better advocates for the children in our state. The keynote address was presented by MelissaRoshan Potter, who shared her personal story of life in foster care and her road to resilience.

SC Department of Mental Health-Office of Suicide Prevention shared tips on how to help teens in crisis, and Fostering Great Ideas came out for some role-playing that really helped attendees walk in the shoes of foster parents, biological parents, and most importantly, the children.

Photos: 1) MelRo Potter 2) Jessica Barnes, SCDMH OSP 3) David White, Fostering Great Ideas.

Blanketed in Thanks

Christola Brayboy, a case manager with the Sumter, Lee, and Williamsburg GAL office, was given a handmade quilt to commemorate her retirement from the GAL program.

The quilt, presented by volunteer GAL Jim Higgins, was made by his wife, Judy.

Brayboy's last day as an employee was January 17, but she will continue to serve children in the area as a volunteer GAL.