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An advocate for children in crisis Felicia Garnes helps protect some of the state's most vulnerable citizens — children. “I have always wanted to do something with child advocacy, so this is a great opportunity to do something to help,” said Garnes, a Child Placement Review Board volunteer in the Essex County Vicinage, or court district. “I am also a lawyer by profession as well as a wife and mother, and after I quit my job, I said to myself, 'This is the time to be involved in community service,” the West Orange resident added. As a volunteer with the board, Garnes helps review cases of children who have been placed away from their families by the state Division of Youth & Family Services. There is at least one Child Placement Review Board in each county and the number of boards depends on the number of children's cases that need to be reviewed. Typically, boards consist of five members and two alternates. “As a board member, I receive 16 to 20 cases at home in a packet once a month, and spend a hour or 90 minutes going over them before getting together with the other board members to make recommendations to the Family Court judge as to whether we believe the child should stay in foster care, be adopted, or whatever,” Garnes said. “When considering what to do for the child, determining the status of the birth parent is important. In 18 out of 20 cases, the father is missing, and there are drug-related issues that need to be addressed. “But, no matter what the condition of the family unit, most children want to be with their parents, so it's especially important to know what's really going on. So, in addition to reviewing the information already in our possession, we take testimony from family members and others involved in the child's care,” she added. Volunteers undergo training on child abuse and neglect issues prior to serving on a Child Placement Review Board. In addition, they are required to complete five hours of continuing education each year, said Angela D. Evans, lead Child Placement Review coordinator and trainer for Essex. The training covers such areas as child development and the psychological effect of separation and bonding on children, and the dynamics of substance abuse and of domestic violence and their effects on the family. “We're lucky to be able to work with Angela and the people from DYFS. With their help, we really are making a difference,” Garnes said. Garnes, who jokingly calls herself “a professional volunteer,” also reads to a blind woman regularly. She is a member of the West Orange Board of Education, and co-president of the PTA at Mount Pleasant Elementary School, which her sons, Kabril, age 6, and Kahlil, 8, attend. In the late 1990s, she and her husband, Wayne, became licensed foster parents to provide temporary emergency placement to children as needed basis. So far, the couple has given shelter to two children. She also enlists the help of her sons in her volunteer efforts. “The West Orange Public Library supplies books to shut-ins once a week and we help to deliver them,” Garnes said. “If I see a need, I cannot just sit back and complain about it, I have to do something,” she said. Training for Child Placement Review Board members is held monthly, and advance training is scheduled on topics of interest to the volunteers. The CPR Advisory Council also holds a continuing education conference once a year.
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