Voices for Children was founded in 1986 as the Child Advocacy Guild, Inc. The original stated purpose of the organization was to initiate fund raising events and methods and to direct those funds to appropriate activities of the Guardian ad Litem Program; to promote awareness of the activities of the program and to encourage volunteer resources; and to encourage community activity and awareness. Voices for Children (VFC) started with a need. The State of Florida requires that the interests of every abused and neglected child be represented by a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in court. While the benefits of this are immeasurable to the child, there aren't enough Guardian Advocates for all of Hillsborough County's abused and neglected children. The GAL program doesn't receive adequate public funding. That's where VOICES helps. Voices for Children is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide the volunteer guardians the financial means necessary for Guardian ad Litem to continue this vital service to children. Currently, the program can serve only about 67% of these children. Our goal is to provide 100% representation for the abused, neglected and abandoned children of Hillsborough County. Through a variety of private funding initiatives, Voices is able to provide the GAL Program with: Increase volunteer recruitment efforts. Identify and develop additional resources and support in order to increase representation of abused and neglected children. Provide increased training opportunities for staff, volunteers and board members through conferences, training and networking. Provide a unified voice to convey the importance of the work and services the program provides to dependent children.
