Karen Malo with the Guardian ad Litem Foundation
The Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay works on a big problem – abused, neglected and abandoned children here in Florida. Oftentimes these children are born into troubled families. They are innocent, and must rely on either family, social workers, volunteers, the courts, foster parents, law enforcement or charities to try to get some protection and some semblance of a normal life.
In Hillsborough County alone, there are over 3,600 children in the dependency court system. There are 600 children in the dependency court system in Hernando and Citrus counties.
To hear more about the situation, Radioactivity host Rob Lorei talked with Karen Malo, the Community Outreach Coordinator for Guardian ad Litem in Pinellas County. Rob was also joined by Christopher O’Donell, who is a reporter at the Tampa Bay Times and has been covering children’s issues.
O’Donnell recently reported that in 2016 child protection investigators at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office received more than 16,700 reports of child abuse or neglect. They resulted in the removal of 1,592 children.
They also discussed the trailer for a film called Foster Shock, which is critical of Florida’s privatized foster care system and the high salaries paid to some top managers.
To listen back to this interview from Wednesday, July 5, 2017 click here.
