The hub of information on our website, the blog contains posts with announcements, news and events, articles, periodicals and additions or updates to our website.
This page contains all published posts sorted chronologically with the newest at the top.
One new library item was added to our Continuing Education resource center.
Ten Things Every Guardian ad Litem Should Know About IEPs
A one page document with tips for guardians ad litem about individual educational plans (IEPs) prepared by Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida.
filed under
Educational Advocacy and
Article
We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem. The following event was added to our calendar.
Guardian ad Litem Shopping Event at T.J. Maxx
Special
Friday, December 2, 2016
You can also browse and access events on our calendar grid.
To help explain our important mission, we recently published a customized infographic about volunteer guardians ad litem and our program. It is displayed in the new Infographic section of the About page and is available to download there in PNG and PDF formats.
The Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program and Child Advocates II (CAII) work together to build partnerships with individuals, businesses and organizations in the Big Bend region.
Without the assistance provided by our CAII Partners 
and community supporters, ensuring children have a court-appointed volunteer guardian ad litem, legal assistance and financial resources would be extremely difficult.
The Supporters page has been updated to included the following additions.
We thank A Dent In The Attic, Seminole Creative Group, Tiny Steps Learning Center, T.J. Maxx and all of our partners and supporters for their generous contributions to children in our community.
The Educational Surrogate Training continuing education event originally set for Monday, November 28, 2016 has been rescheduled to Monday, December 5, 2016. The event page, calendar and print flyer have been updated accordingly.
We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem. The following events were added to our calendar.
Learning Optima
Continuing Education
Monday, November 14, 2016
Alternative Christmas Market
Fundraising
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Jeff Cameron Show Bowling Tournament for CAII
Special
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
You can also browse and access events on our calendar grid.
The 2016 Guardian ad Litem Holiday Gift Drive event page and our calendar were updated to include event times. A new Supporting Events section was also added to display events that benefit the drive, such as the aforementioned bowling tournament and alternative market.
Our holiday gift drive is simple. Child Advocates II, Inc. (CAII), our nonprofit support organization, collects donated items from the community and then hosts a "gift store" where our volunteer guardians ad litem can "shop" for gifts for the children that they represent.
Providing an important sense of normalcy, this annual drive allows us to ensure that every child represented by our program receives gifts for the holiday season.
Visit gal2.org/gift to learn all about our gift drive and how you or your business can participate.
A copy of the Optima Volunteer Guidelines is now available to download from the "Optima" section of the Form and Document Library on the Current Volunteers page. This document contains instructions for our volunteers on how to use our web-based case management system.
An updated version of the CAII brochure has been published. It is available to download from the Child Advocates II page.
In addition, a copy of the Florida Guardian ad Litem Program brochure is now available to download from the Frequently Asked Questions section on the Prospective Volunteers page.
Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 6, 2016 at 2:00 AM local time. Our clocks will revert to Eastern Standard Time and fall back to 1:00 AM. While phones and computers usually update themselves automatically, be sure to set your classic clocks backward one hour tonight.
We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem.
It is vital that all of our volunteers learn the new Optima case management system. The following twelve sessions of Learning Optima were added to our calendar.
Learning Optima
Continuing Education
In addition, the following event was also added to the calendar.
Educational Surrogate Training
Continuing Education
Monday, November 28, 2016
You can also browse and access events on our calendar grid.
The 2016 Guardian ad Litem Holiday Gift Drive event page was updated. The numbers of children in the Gift Recommendations section have been refreshed.
Our holiday gift drive is simple. Child Advocates II, Inc. (CAII), our nonprofit support organization, collects donated items from the community and then hosts a "gift store" where our volunteer guardians ad litem can "shop" for gifts for the children that they represent.
Providing an important sense of normalcy, this annual drive allows us to ensure that every child represented by our program receives gifts for the holiday season.
Visit gal2.org/gift to learn all about our gift drive and how you or your business can participate.
The Prospective Volunteers page was updated. A new "Ask Questions" section provides three methods — email, telephone and eForm — to get in touch with our volunteer recruiter.
This new section was added to emphasize the methods of direct, personal communication available to anyone considering volunteering for our program.
We have made a few minor updates to the Volunteer Transportation Request eForm. The help text for "Transport Rule 2" was expanded to include a sentence about car and booster seat purchasing assistance. The entire help text block for this rule was also added to the email template.
One of our most popular online features, eForm provides a streamlined way to submit forms and reports to our staff. Featuring dynamic fields and controls, eForm is easy to use on any device at home or out in the field.
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Thank you for your support!
One of our most important and popular annual events is back. We are pleased to announce the 2016 Guardian ad Litem Holiday Gift Drive scheduled in early December.
Separated from family and siblings, the holiday season can be a difficult and lonely time for the abused, neglected and abandoned children represented by our program. Despite their circumstances and heartbreaking stories, these children and youth still anticipate the season like any other child and teen.
The annual holiday gift drive — run by our nonprofit partner Child Advocates II, Inc. (CAII) — ensures that all children and youth represented by our program are able to receive some gifts this holiday season.
Please visit gal2.org/gift to learn more and then become a sponsor and help us spread the word.
Gift Donation Drop Off
Friday, December 2, 2016
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Volunteer Shopping and Celebration Event
Saturday, December 10, 2016
On the gal2.org/gift event page, you can learn about…
There are still some details to be added to the event page, so stay tuned here for future update announcements.
You can stay informed by subscribing to the gal2.org Updates weekly email digest. You can also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or subscribe to the RSS feed to receive notifications when new content is published.
Thank you for your support!
The Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program and Child Advocates II (CAII) work together to build partnerships with individuals, businesses and organizations in the Big Bend region.
Without the assistance provided by our CAII Partners and community supporters, ensuring children have a court-appointed volunteer guardian ad litem, legal assistance and financial resources would be extremely difficult.
The Supporters page has been updated to included the following addition, filed under Local Businesses.
We thank Student Housing Solutions and all of our partners and supporters for their generous contributions to children in our community.
Our staff directory on the Contact page plus our Child Visitation Report and Report to the Court eForms have been updated to reflect recent personnel changes.
Please join us in welcoming Child Advocate Manager Kimberly Nester and Child Advocate Manager Shawn O'Neal to our team!
We regularly host, sponsor and support a variety of events that provide community outreach, increase awareness of our program, help recruit new volunteers, raise funds and furnish training to our volunteer guardians ad litem. The following event was added to our calendar.
CCYS Sleep Out For Homeless Youth
Special
Thursday, November 3, 2016
You can also browse and access events on our calendar grid.
The Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program and Child Advocates II (CAII) work together to build partnerships with individuals, businesses and organizations in the Big Bend region.
Without the assistance provided by our CAII Partners and community supporters, ensuring children have a court-appointed volunteer guardian ad litem, legal assistance and financial resources would be extremely difficult.
The Supporters page has been updated to included the following additions, filed under Civic Organizations and Local Businesses, respectively.
We thank Florida State University Sustainable Campus, Westminster Oaks and all of our partners and supporters for their generous contributions to children in our community.
Our staff directory on the Contact page plus our Child Visitation Report and Report to the Court eForms have been updated to reflect recent personnel changes.
Please join us in welcoming Annette Riddle to our team as a Child Advocate Manager. In addition, Senior Secretary Lillian Walker has departed. We thank Lillian for her service and wish her the best with her future endeavors.
We regularly encounter families who are in need of living assistance but our resources are extremely limited. When special requests for essentials such as beds, linens, clothing and school supplies come in from families, our staff reach out to the community for help.
If you can assist in fulfilling the below request or have any questions, please get in touch with the request contact. Thank you for your help!
Status
Fulfilled
Request
Toddler Beds
Narrative
This is a general request. Our program has an ongoing need for toddler beds.
gal.fl.gov
