CFGALA Procedures for Requesting Funds:

CFGALA Fund Request Form Print this form or copy and paste it to your computer and send to CFGALA Allocation Committee Chair Susan Carter to at /GAL-resources.html

1. CFGALA can not issue checks to caregivers
2. CFGALA Fund request can not be made retroactively
3. The Fund request form should be submitted carefully with exact information requested.  Information omitted will cause extra work for the the Committee Chair, the GAL and result in a delay.
4. When necessary assist DSS, in filling out any required paper work such as the registration forms, medical release forms, etc. and work with DSS to make arrangements for transportation to and from the program.
5. You should call the camp or program to ensure that payment and necessary forms have been received and that everything is in order or to arrange a refund if the GAL child does not attend camp.

Allocation Committee:

The committee will consider all reasonable funding requests.  (The typical fund request for summer programs or camps ranges between $200 and $400).

1. Each fund request will be reviewed in the order in which it is received.
2. The GAL will be notified of the committee's decision within seven (7) days.  If a GAL is not notified in 7 days he/she should contact the Allocation Committee Chair Susan Carter at /GAL-resources.html
3. Payment will be made in the form of a check made out to the service provider.
4. The committee will notify the GAL when the check has been sent. 
5. The committee with send a CFGALA evaluation form to each GAL whose child received funding.

CFGALA Funding Evaluation Form  should be completed by each GAL who received funding for an activity.    This information is essential for completing grant applications.  Please e-mail the completed form to Kathleen Abrams at KABRAMS@ec.rr.com

CFGALA Cultural Event Admission Tickets Form  Print this form or copy and paste it to your computer and send to CFGALA Cultural Tickets Committee Chair Mary Elizabeth Butler at /GAL-resources.html

Tickets available to:

• Jellybeans
• Wilmington Children's Museum
• Railroad Museum
• NC Aquarium
• Airlie Gardens
• Fit-for-fun
• Serpentarium
• Cameron Art Museum
• Battleship North Carolina

GAL Guidelines

Guidance for transmitting confidential information in electronic mail.

The objective is to protect the confidentiality of child clients while still utilizing e-mail as a fast and convenient form of communication.

1. Use the following suggested boilerplate language that can be inserted in each GAL court report: "Confidential–This Guardian Ad Litem Report is intended only for the court and other parties involved in this case." Currently this language is embedded as footer in our court report template.
2.   Do NOT use a juvenile's name in the email (subject) caption, and encourage other parties such as DSS to do the same. The preferable caption is CONFIDENTIAL. If you must identify the child in the subject please use only their initials such as "KB".
3. Use an appropriate legal disclaimer as part of your signature in emails. "The information contained in this electronic mail message is legally privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the individual or entity to whom the message is addressed. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, please be advised that any distribution or copying is strictly prohibited. If you have received this electronic mail message in error, please reply to this message regarding the error and delete the message."
   
   Or if space is an issue, you can use the following abbreviated disclaimer:
   INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS EMAIL IS CONFIDENTIAL AND LEGALLY PRIVILEGED. 
   

** Travel Reimbursement Rates:  Due to state budget restraints there is no reimbursement for travel.

** GAL Court Reports:  Please double click on the underlined GAL court report template to get the latest form:  GAL Sept. 2010 Revised Report Template and GAL new court report

** TPR Court Reports : Please double click on the underlined TPR court report template to get the latest form: TPR Court Report template

Court reports are required for TPR hearings.

Filing a court report at the TPR will ensure that our presence at the TPR hearing is part of the written records of the hearings, and not just the transcribed record of the hearing. The judges have endorsed this change and will receive these reports after the adjudicatory phase of the TPR: when the judge has made a ruling that the grounds for a TPR exist.

The TPR report need not be more than two pages in length.  It should include information such as:

• How long the case has been open to the court
• The likelihood of adoption for the child/children
• How the TPR will accomplish permanency for the child
• The child's wishes
• Why the TPR is in the child's best interest

The TPR report will is due to your supervisor one week in advance of the court hearing. A suggestion for you as you prepare for a TPR hearing, especially one that is expected to be contested is to create a time line of the case.

Write out in chronological order:

• Dates of hearings - summarize what was ordered and whether or not there was compliance on the part of parents/guardians
• Include concerns for the children's stability or disruptions. 

You can use the time line as a method to share the details of the case with your supervisor and the GAL attorney, as well as any social worker who may not have had the case throughout its history.  The time line will not be included in a TPR report, or handed up to the judge, but it helps organize and prepare for the hearing itself.

Strategies for Legal Permanency:

The following was received from the State Guardian office as suggestions for moving a case along toward permanency:

• Change the Permanent Plan. When parents are not working their case plan or are only marginally complying, advocate that reunification efforts cease and that the permanent plan be changed from reunification to kinship care or adoption. Even if your recommendation is not accepted by the court, it may be a wake-up call for the parents and motivate them to work towards reunification with their child(ren).
• Recommend concurrent planning early in the case (i.e. the primary plan Is reunification and the secondary plan is guardianship to a relative). Knowing that there is an alternative plan can also motivate parents to diligently work their case plan.
• Monitor Timelines. Bring delays and non-compliance with statute mandated timelines to the court's attention through court reports or in court. If the case is not in compliance, contact your GAL supervisor about putting it on the next available docket.
• Object to continuances if the continuance is not in the child's best interest. Do this for the record even when you believe the objection will fail. You will be building a case for rejecting future continuances.
• Paternity. From the beginning of the case, determine who the child's father is (or fathers are). Sometimes mothers in GAL cases do not know who fathered their child. Other mothers will keep the father's identity secret from DSS and then present a series of candidates for fathers who fail the paternity test. This can drag the case out for quite a while as each test must be approved by DSS fiscal and then coordinated by the busy social worker and finally processed by the lab. By advocating for it early on, the GAL can get the identification process going and, as a side benefit, may discover competent paternal relatives who can provide a good home for the child.
• Advocate for Child Support Enforcement. If no case has been opened with CSE, encourage the social worker to file one. Parents who will never be able to care for their children may be motivated to get out of the way and allow an adoption to go forward by a mounting child support debt. If a parent is in prison, DSS will likely not file for support, since the parent has no ability to pay while incarcerated (presuming they are destitute). However, even if a parent is unemployed, a CSE case should be opened, as parents must support their children and not paying support can be one justification for ceasing reunification.

• GAL Library and Volunteer Resource Guide
• Pender county DSS phone listing for Guardians
• New Hanover County Website
• Find Registered Sex Offenders

• Shop Online for GAL Items
• Links to Important Info for GALs  
• Community Resource Guide
• Aging Out

Aging Out

Medicaid for Young Adults 18 to 21 Who Aged Out Of Foster Care

Session Law 2007-323, section 10.36(c)(4) expanded Medicaid coverage for young adults ages 18, 19 or 20 who aged out of North Carolina foster care at age 18, regardless of assets, resources, or income levels. All young adults who have aged out of NC DSS foster care and who were not 21 years of age as of October 1, 2007 are eligible for this coverage until their 21st birthday. Medicaid coverage will not be retroactive for expenses incurred prior to the effective date, October 1, 2007. Coverage only applies to treatment by North Carolina providers.

Young adults who age out of DSS foster care on or after October 1, 2007 will be enrolled into the Medicaid Expansion Program automatically.

Young adults who aged out prior to October 1, 2007 must apply in person at the North Carolina Department of Social Services office in their current county of residence. Due to a Federal rule, applicants for the program must first apply for all mandated Medicaid programs prior to being enrolled in the Expanded

Foster Care Medicaid program. Applicants are advised to contact the local DSS Medicaid office to determine what types of documentation they need to bring. Typically they will need to show proof of income, their Social Security card, proof of residency, and documentation to show that they were in foster care custody in North Carolina on their 18th birthday.

Youth from other states who are placed in North Carolina and age out of their state's custody are not eligible for this coverage. Youth in NC custody who age out in another state are eligible, but must return to NC to establish residence to benefit from the coverage. Coverage in North Carolina does not automatically transfer to any other state.

Scholarships for Former Foster Children

Education Training Vouchers   Youth who were adopted from foster care after the age of 16 or who were in foster care on or after their 17th birthday are eligible for Education Training Vouchers, which are worth up to $5001 per year toward the cost of attendance at most colleges, community colleges, or vocational schools. Students apply directly on line at www.statevoucher.org http://www.statevoucher.org.This website contains a wealth of information regarding other sources of aid, North Carolina colleges, community colleges, and vocational schools, and other information useful to any student.

Education Training Vouchers were established in 2003 and are funded by the same money that funds the NC LINKS program. For this academic year, as of April 9, 2008, we have 165 students currently receiving funding, and 40 more students have been approved for funding. For the life of the ETV program, 968 students have received funding for one or more years.

NC Child Welfare Postsecondary Education Support Scholarships

The 2007 North Carolina Legislature approved funding for a scholarship program for all young adults ages 18 through 25 who either aged out of NC foster care or were adopted from NC foster care on or after their 12th birthday. This scholarship program is called NC Reach. The website is www.NCReach.org http://www.NCReach.org and students apply on line. The Division has selected Orphan Foundation of America to manage the program and provide case management services to all scholarship recipients.

The scholarships will pay for the remaining the costs of attendance, as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, at any branch of the University of North Carolina or any of the North Carolina Community Colleges. Federal grants, including the Education Training Voucher and Pell grants, will be applied to the costs of attendance first. Legitimate student loans incurred by students after July 31, 2007 may be eligible for repayment through this program, up to the determined cost of attendance after that date.

Students will be eligible for up to eight semesters of assistance, so long as they make satisfactory progress toward the completion of their academic program. Students will remain eligible for assistance until their 26th birthday.

For information about the UNC constituent universities, go to

• UNC Campus map

For information about North Carolina community colleges, go to

• http://www.ncccs.cc.nc.us/colleges_map.htm

Students who were in North Carolina DSS custody but were placed out of state and aged out of care in another state are eligible for these scholarships.

The following students are not eligible for NC Reach scholarships:

• Students who were in the custody of other states and were placed in North Carolina on an interstate agreement
• Youth adopted from other states' custody, even if their adoptive parents live in North Carolina. Youth who were adopted through international adoptions or private adoptions
• Undocumented youth who aged out of North Carolina foster care or were adopted on or after their 12th birthday. Such students may become eligible once they have established legal residence.

Case Management Services to be provided to NC Reach students

The Division of Social Services is contracting with Orphan Foundation of America to provide intensive Case Management Services to all students who receive the NC Reach scholarships. Services will include:

• An annual assessment of strengths and needs
• Surveys to identify ongoing concerns
• Workshops on a variety of topics promoting academic achievement
• Students matched with a screened, trained and monitored "virtual" mentor who will maintain contact with them through e-mail and who have made a two year commitment
• Provide opportunities for internships for rising juniors and seniors in major metropolitan areas of North Carolina
• Provide emergency case management 24/7 and
• Send 3 care packagesper school year.
• The web site for NC Reach went live in mid March: to date 126 applications
• have been received and are being processed.

The PBS documentary Aging Out

tells the intimate stories of three young people who "age out" of the foster care system and suddenly discover that they're on their own. It was aired during the Spring of 2005. The film follows these young people as they become parents, battle drug addiction, face homelessness and even end up in jail. Despite their struggles, the film shows these youth using the resiliency they developed during their years "in the system" to overcome their challenges. For more information on this topic, check these websites:

• http://www.pbs.org/wnet/agingout/index-hi.html
• http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org
• http://www.childtrends.org
• http://www.kidsathome.org
• http://www.orphan.org