FAMILY ADVOCATES: For the love of a child
BY DREW DODSON
Kathryn Seebold has seen plenty of tragedy, but is thankful to also know triumph as well as anyone. Seebold leads Family Advocates, a Boise organization focused on strengthening families and ending child abuse, neglect, and abandonment. At the heart of Family Advocates is a cadre of 121 volunteers who staff the organization’s Court-Appointed Special Advocate program. The volunteers, known as guardian ad litems, are assigned to children entering foster care to escape abusive or unstable households. In 2023 alone, Family Advocates’ guardian ad litems worked with 380 children referred by the Fourth Judicial District Court, which has jurisdiction over Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley counties. The guardians ensure that each child has an adult to advocate for their best interests in a court system that, frankly, is not tailored to the needs of children. “The judge considers these guardians to be his eyes and ears in the life of a child,” said Maggie Thompson, who oversees day-to-day operations for the program. “To know that there is specifically someone out there, just looking out for that child when they’re in those situations, it’s just amazing.” Idaho law broadly defines child abuse as “circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or unjustifiable physical pain.” Anyone who witnesses or suspects child abuse must report it to police or the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, under state law. However, the law’s ambiguity means that it can take months, if not years, to investigate and resolve reported cases. Meanwhile, the children involved can be overwhelmed with a revolving door of people who are trying to help, but have a limited capacity to do so. “A lot of kids, they don’t trust adults that have been involved in the situation,” Seebold said. “They just feel like the world is against them.” “But their guardian listens to them and fights for them. That’s what they do,” she said. Guardians build relationships over time by regularly meeting with their assigned child, while also learning as much about the child’s circumstances from parents, neighbors, teachers, or anyone else close to the situation. Foster parents, social workers, counselors, and judges may change, but guardians do not. Each guardian remains with their assigned child until the case is resolved, or until the child turns 18. That consistency, Seebold said, is part and parcel to the success of the program. “The one constant these kids have had in their life through the entire thing is their guardian,” she said. 34
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PHOTO COURTESY OF FAMILY ADVOCATES
Cases may be resolved within months or a few years, but can also last for a decade or more. Over time, relationships built between child and guardian can prove to be transformative. Seebold recalled the story of a man who served as the guardian for one child for over eight years. Upon adoption by a new family, the child bestowed the ultimate honor on his guardian. “He said he wanted his guardian’s name to be his middle name,” she said. “This is not a little boy—this is a young man. He’s old enough to recognize the impact of making that decision.” Family Advocates has not turned away a court referral in the last three years, during which guardian ad litems have advocated on behalf of more than 1,000 children. Many of these guardians and their success stories will be celebrated during the second annual For the Love of a Child Gala on Feb. 9 at Chateau des Fleurs in Eagle. Last year, the gala raised more than $150,000 to support the guardian ad litem program as well as educational classes offered to families by Family Advocates. The event will feature live music, dancing, a luxurious dinner, multiple auctions, and formal remarks from Family Advocates’ staffers and volunteers. Tickets can be purchased in advance at familyadvocates.org/events/ “There are children in our community that need your help,” Seebold said. “Anyone who is interested in making a difference in the lives of children that live in their community should attend.”
