ListenMARYLAND
Local child advocate sees resiliency in those she helps
As a court-appointed volunteer with Maryland Court Appointed Special Advocates, Nicole Aliev has a 360-degree view of the lives of abused and neglected children.
When assigned to follow a child's case, she will develop the bigger picture by speaking with school counselors, social workers and therapists, Aliev said. She researches a child's family to see who should be in touch with the child, and she meets with the child at least once a month to check on his or her progress.
After careful consideration, Aliev, 46, makes recommendations to local courts about what should be done to best meet a child's needs, she said.
"We are the independent eyes and ears of the court," Aliev said. "It's tremendously rewarding, especially if there is a positive outcome."
An independent development and human resources consultant, originally from South Africa, Aliev has lived and worked in England and New York. She and her husband decided to move their young family from New York to Frederick County about four years ago for a change in lifestyle, she said.
Aliev has volunteered in her spare time throughout her career, she said. After moving to Jefferson, she decided she wanted to do something to help children.
According to a Maryland CASA news release, about 10,000 children are under court protection because of abuse. About 7,000 of these children live in foster care for an average of three years before they find permanent homes.
"I think we've got a lot to learn from these kids," said Aliev, who began training with Maryland CASA about two years ago. "They are so resilient."
She has seen children who have moved as many as eight times in six years, she said.
"How do you build trust, how do you build support networks if those are being consistently broken?"
Details of these children's lives can fall through the cracks.
In one case, Aliev said she discovered supportive and loving relatives that a teenager could be placed with, a situation previously unknown by the local Department of Social Services.
Another teenager she helped through CASA had graduated from a high school in Frederick County, despite reading at a rudimentary level and having learning disabilities, she said.
Aliev helped the teen enter remedial reading courses and, she hopes, start a career training path to developing useful skills for employment.
Overall, Aliev said she has seen a highly dedicated group of people involved in the local foster care system, from DSS workers to judges, lawyers and advocates like herself.
But agencies like DSS cannot be everywhere at once, and the system often moves slowly, she said.
She believes children in foster care are often overmedicated and that, rather than prescription medicines, more attention needs to be paid to addressing the traumas that cause their problems.
People should speak up when they have serious doubts about how a child is being treated, she said.
"There's likely a reason behind it that's not a positive one."
Nicholas C. Stern
14 April 2012
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=134448
