{"id":4830,"date":"2013-07-23T07:31:04","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T11:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=4830"},"modified":"2013-07-23T10:04:45","modified_gmt":"2013-07-23T14:04:45","slug":"ellen-golden-for-dfcs-lcc-2013-07-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/07\/ellen-golden-for-dfcs-lcc-2013-07-22.html","title":{"rendered":"Ellen Golden for DFCS @ LCC 2013-07-22"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n“I was not aware DFAC has a board of directors,”\r\nsaid Ellen S. Golden, local attorney, sole candidate for\r\n\r\n\"Ellen<\/a>\r\nthe local Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) board,\r\nat the\r\n\r\nMonday 22 July 2013 Lowndes County Commission Work Session<\/a>; they vote tonight.\r\nNor was I.\r\nMaybe the county should tell us who they are.\r\nAnyway, Ellen Golden is willing to serve, and we have video of what she said,\r\nplus a little detail about her relevant experience.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\"County<\/a>\r\n6.\r\n\r\nAppointment – Department of Family & Children’s Services Board<\/a>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\nCounty Manager Joe Pritchard said<\/a> Commissioners had before them a letter from\r\nVirginia Boswell\r\nrecommending a replacement for the expiring position of\r\nMr. [Loud Click!] Farrell(?).\r\nHe said the recomendee is Ellen Golden.\r\n

\r\n<\/a>\r\n\r\nHe didn’t say, but Virginia Boswell is\r\n\r\nDirector of the Lowndes County office of DFCS<\/a>.\r\nAs usual, County Manager Joe Pritchard didn’t say who was on this board\r\nor what it does.\r\n\r\n\r\nAccording to the state<\/a>,\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nThe Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is the part of\r\nDHS that investigates child abuse; finds foster homes for abused and\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\n\r\nneglected children; helps low income, out-of-work parents get back\r\non their feet; assists with childcare costs for low income parents\r\nwho are working or in job training; and provides numerous support\r\nservices and innovative programs to help troubled families.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nAnd state DFCS has\r\n\r\nthis address for the Lowndes office<\/a>:\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nLowndes County DFCS\r\n
\r\n206 S. Patterson Street\r\n
\r\nP. O. Box 5166\r\n
\r\nValdosta, Georgia 31603-5166\r\n
\r\n(229) 333-5200\r\n
\r\nFAX (229) 245-2410\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nHere’s\r\n\r\na VDT story about the local office<\/a>\r\nby Dawn Castro 20 April 2012.\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe candidate, Ellen Golden, said<\/a> she\r\nwas on the CAC board with Commissioner Evans,\r\nwent to school with Commissioner Powell,\r\nshe is a practicing attorney,\r\nand she went to Valdosta schools.\r\nShe said she was contacted by Ginny Boswell a few weeks ago\r\nabout being nomminated.\r\nAfter talking to Ms. Boswell, to the outgoing board member,\r\nand to Marty Giddens[?], she decided she was very interested.\r\n

\r\nDon Thieme clarified in a comment on this post:\r\n

\r\nMs. Golden sounds like a good choice for this board. Dr. Marty Giddings is a professor of social work at VSU, my wife\u2019s colleague. The child advocacy center is an important local institution although there were problems with a former director, Joseph Driggers.\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"Ellen<\/a>\r\n

\r\nEllen S. Golden is an attorney with\r\n\r\nAllen, Kopet & Associates<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nCAC appears to be\r\n\r\nthe Deloris M. Parrish Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC)<\/a>.\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"Ellen<\/a>\r\nEllen Golden is modest; she at least used to be chair of CAC,\r\naccording to Jessica Pope in the VDT 25 April 2006,\r\n\r\nDebt goes up in smoke:\r\nChildren\u2019s Advocacy Center celebrates successful capital campaign<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\n“We’ve worked hard for this day,” said Ellen Golden,\r\nchairwoman of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County Inc.\r\nBoard of Directors. “We have finally succeeded in raising\r\nenough money to pay off the mortgage, and we are really\r\nexcited.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nIn April 2004, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County Inc.\r\npurchased property situated at 200 W. Moore St. at a cost of about\r\n$186,000. Bajalia and others worried about making the estimated $900\r\na month mortgage payments over the next 15 years, while making\r\nnecessary repairs and upgrades.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nTwo years to pay off the mortgage ain’t too shabby.\r\n

\r\nHere’s\r\n\r\na 2009 research paper about CAC by Jessica A. Mathews<\/a>\r\nfor a VSU class, which says CAC deals with child abuse\r\nwith some success, despite problems of funding and\r\nlack of representation from the local cities.\r\nMs. Golden is not mentioned in that paper, but\r\nCommissioner Evans was asked:\r\n

\r\n

\r\nHow would you describe your role and do you perceive that there may\r\nbe an issue of conflict-of-interest since you are involved in\r\nover-sight of both organizations, especially as it relates to the\r\nBoard of Commissioners granting funds to the CAC?\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nHer response was:\r\n

\r\n

\r\nChildren and the protection of their innocence has always been a top\r\npriority for me. I am the mother of five (5) and now retired\r\nowner\/operator of two (2) Day Care Centers, one in Valdosta and the\r\nother in Tifton. I am also a certified childcare specialist and was\r\nappointed by the then Governor Roy Barnes to the Georgia State\r\nHead-Start Review Commission.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nI believe that engaging in public service, having some influence on\r\nits development and delivery, is a responsibility that we all share\r\nas members of this community. I also believe that, in fact, it’s a\r\npart of my personal mantra, that all organizations should work\r\ntogether to best use the limited resources available. But using\r\nresources, especially public tax dollars, comes with fiscal\r\nresponsibility, measurable results and a level of transparency,\r\nknowing what is done with the money, for the operations of recipient\r\nagencies.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nI don’t believe that my dual role associated with both the CAC and\r\nthe BOC [Board of Commissioners] is in conflict because any\r\ninterested agency that is seeking funds in the form of grants have\r\nto meet the same criteria via the completion of a budget request\r\npacket followed by a formal presentation to the Board, which has to\r\ninclude measurable\/verifiable results.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nI am one of a four (4) member board, three (3) are voting as you\r\nknow, and we all sit on various community [organization] boards in\r\nthe community. My decision or vote, on every matter that is\r\npresented for consideration, has equal weight [the same value] with\r\nthe other commissioners. There is no personal avenue of enrichment\r\nfor me, my time and position on the CAC Board of Directors is an\r\nun-paid position.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nMy joy is realized, as I believe all of our community is enriched,\r\nwhen needed services are provided with positive results. Also, the\r\nBoard’s action has to be in compliance with the [unfunded] mandate\r\nthat the State issued for the creation of CACs.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWhatever I can do, be that over-sight or direct involvement through\r\npersonal support and presence in support of the CAC, because they\r\nhave consistently produced measurable results in helping the most\r\ninnocent among us—our children—while also assisting the\r\nother part ner agencies in the prosecution of the perpetrators of\r\nthese kinds of crimes, I have promised myself and my community\r\nsupporters that I will.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n2009 was before the expansion of the Board of Comissioners to \r\nfive voting members plus a non-voting chair.\r\n

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