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Meet the Face Behind the Voice of the Child, Alane Singleton.

Posted on January 27th, 2015

I have always known I wanted to work in the area of community service. I came from a big family of 13. I think I was created to work on this field. I received my Undergrad in Social Work and my Masters in Psychology. After college I worked for ???????????????????????????????the Department of Child Services before working for the past 9 years as a Guardian Ad Litem at Child Advocates. I think the best part about my job is knowing I can make a difference in the lives of the children. I feel happy doing the work I’m doing and I know that I can count on everyone I work with. We’re all a team, working for the best interest of children. It’s a great feeling.

One of the most memorable cases I’ve worked opened in 2010. The case had two children in it, Sarah and Sam. Sarah was 10 at the time and Sam was 8. The children were both removed from the care of their mother because of her drug problem. Their father was not around and not involved in their lives. Sam suffered from autism and Sarah had severe ADHD. Both children often missed school and appointments due to mom’s problem with drugs. Eventually the children were removed because of neglect allegations. After the children had been removed, it came out that Sarah had been molested by one of mom’s boyfriends.

When it was time to find safe placement for the children, their grandmother stepped up to the plate. Grandmother had always been there for the children, especially when mom was using drugs. Mom continued to fight for her kids, but was still using drugs, not providing adequate supervision and bringing inappropriate people around her children. The final straw, which ended in mom’s TPR (Termination of Parental Rights), was when mom began stalking Sarah at school with the man who had molested her.

In July of 2013 grandmother adopted both Sam and Sarah. The adoption hearing went great and the kids were thrilled to be able to stay with their grandmother. It was amazing to see the resilience in these children. I’ll never forget the happiness on their faces at the adoption hearing. They are both in school and doing great in grandmother’s care.