This summer I was privileged to work with three of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Juvenile Court Judges. I worked with the Honorable McCracken Poston and the Honorable Mike Giglio of Catoosa County, and the Honorable F. Bryant Henry of Walker and Dade Counties. This summer I was provided a great opportunity to not only observe, but to actually participate and contribute to the juvenile court process. The Court staff as well as the judges welcomed me and invited me to become very involved with the judicial process.

Initially I observed court proceedings and procedures. This was a new experience for me. I was provided a great educational opportunity by being able to observe cases that would usually be closed to the public, as well as observe the distinct styles of each judge. Judge Poston was the type of judge that inquired why the juveniles act the way they acted. He often inquired about a delinquent juvenile's school record and home situation looking for an underlying problem that triggers the delinquent behavior.

Judge Henry would ask me after each day of court, whether I agreed with the decisions he made and if not, what I would have done differently. This allowed me to offer my opinion and to think like a judge. Judge Henry really stressed to me and showed me that a judge's acts are discretionary, and that sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

After my first day experiencing Walker County DFCS court, I left in tears because the situations were so disheartening and emotional. There were many cases where parents were on drugs or alcohol and could not see pass their addictions to properly nurture and care for their children. There were times when I believed that I had heard and seen the worst case of neglect imaginable, and then, another family would appear before the Court that would be worse than the preceding family's situation. This was something that I had to learn to deal with and accept over the duration of my internship.

I spent time with the Division of Family and Children Service, the Juvenile Court District Attorney, the Department of Juvenile Justice, Four Points Community Outreach and Visitation Center, and CASA. I observed their role in court as well as how each department goes about preparing and presenting their part of the judicial process. Each department plays a vital role in the overall juvenile process; however, in various cases, I often found myself choosing sides. Often it was very easy to say DFCS was right, and in other cases, it was easy to say that the parents were right. However, in most cases, it often was a very difficult decision that had to be made.

I also encountered the lack of resources of these small rural counties. I was shocked when I discovered that there were only around 40 foster homes in Walker County and over 150 children who were need of placement. So each judge has to consider available placements when deciding what to do with a child. There were several cases where the main question was exactly that, "What can we do with this child?" There were times when the child should not go home, but there were no other placements available. I believe that this is a problem statewide; however, it seems escalated in these smaller counties.

I spent the latter part of the summer serving as a guardian ad litem mostly for Department of Juvenile Justice juveniles and some DFCS juveniles in Catoosa County. This was the best experience of my summer. I had the opportunity to interview juveniles, caseworkers, counselors, parents and probation officers to gather enough information to provide the court with a promising recommendation. I found it enlightening to be able to help children and possibly offer remedies that have not been considered by other involved parties. Also promising was the ease with which the juveniles openly accepted my assistance and communicated with me. Some children only needed someone to listen to them, while others had serious underlying emotional and psychological problems that require intense counseling or therapy. In my role as guardian ad litem, I conversed with the juvenile on a basic level to try and see what the problem was that caused the delinquent behavior. Some of the children openly discussed their situations, and others talked about everything but their situations. However, it was a good experience to talk with these children and help them see that what is going on with them does not have to define who they become in the future.

This was a great opportunity for me and I really enjoyed the experience. I developed a great respect for the juvenile court system and all of the participating parties. This has been a summer that has greatly impacted my life and future career.