Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

I have always been fascinated by advocacy.  Especially when it comes to the wellbeing of children and their families.  As we continue our journey in this course we have the opportunity to sneak a peak in other early childhood organizations, agencies, and communities of practice. 

One particular program that is nationally recognized in most states is Guardian Ad Litem.  A Guardian ad Litem advocate is a trained community volunteer who is appointed, along with a Guardian ad Litem attorney, by a district court judge to investigate and determine the needs of abused and neglected children petitioned into the court system by the Department of Social Services.  This organization is a mandated by the North Carolina General Statute 7B-601.  Each state has a Guardian ad Litem program.  Briefly looking over the numbers, this organization alone assists over 15,000 children a year state wide.  GALs complete 30 hours of training before being sworn in by a judge and appointed to advocate on behalf of a child. In addition to advocating for the child, GALs will attend continuing education trainings (Guardian ad Litem, 2014).  An application, a screening interview with staff, and a criminal background must be conducted before any further involvement is to happen with this organization.  I chose this organization simply because of the importance of it.  Being a trusted adult that a child can feel safe to talk to and have their best interests in is a very powerful role in the eyes of a child.  Being in that category alone is a blessing and what I want to be observed as by a child and their family members.

Onslow County Partnership for Children is a local agency in my community that is a very valuable resource for anyone involved in a child’s life.  OCPC is a private non-profit agency that advocates and provides services for the healthy development of children, by building the strengths and capacities of families, care-giving professionals, and the communities in which they reside (OCPC, 2014). OCPC is on the frontlines of best practice and serves as a translator to the community of new discoveries and developments in the field.  The four key roles are all opportunities that interest me a professional wanting to be involved in the lives of my community other than the role I have now.

OCPC serves four key roles on behalf of the community (OCPC, 2014)

Human Services Provider; direct services to children and families, including home visiting, parent support, military family support, intervention services, and childcare access and referral.

Professional Development Hub; coordinates and hosts a menu of mentoring, training and technical assistance programs for the teachers and administrators that serve the county’s children in non-school setting. 

Administrative services provider; administrative services to a host of non-profit organizations including program evaluation, fiscal management and accounting. 

Community Convener and Thought-Leader; hosts many community events, they are engaged in community-wide initiatives such as Shape Onslow County. 

The last course I took was amazing and it introduced my colleagues and me to some amazing new agencies that are assisting children and their families. Heifer International is one that caught my eye.   Their concept is pretty simple; why ration a cup of milk when we can have the cow.  Teaching the concept to pay it forward is a way of life with the Heifer International.  Connecting communities through providing agriculture and farm animals is a technique that Heifer believed would and has ended poverty and hunger in countries that are lacking with support from their government and of a trade that is economically successful.  Sharing the training they received to other community members and passing on their first female offspring to another family in the community.  Heifer believes this will help with families achieving self-reliance (Heifer International, 2011).  The opportunities to volunteer and take on a mission in a country that is in need of some guidance with the way of living is a great opportunity that I would love to take on.  Seeing the end result one that I would love to see. 

Guardian ad Litem. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.nccourts.org/Citizens/GAL/Default.aspHeifer International. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2011, from http://www.heifer.org/

Onslow County Partnership for Children (2014). Retrieved from http://www.onslowkids.org/