Spotlight on the CARE Center

To each of the 1,384 children served in the year 2002, the CARE (Child Abuse Response and Evaluation) Center offered an oasis in lives marred by sexual and physical abuse, and exposure to methamphetamine and other drugs. Other children suffered from neglect. Some even witnessed the homicide of a parent. The "average" case involved a six-year-old white female who had been sexually abused by a father figure. The youngest case involved a 17-day-old boy beaten by his mother and hospitalized on Christmas Eve. He died the day after Christmas.

The CARE Center in Oklahoma City nurtures these children by offering forensic interviews, counseling and medical exams in a safe, home-like setting. The CARE Center could not operate without volunteers who donated 5,032 hours of time and talent. Many of these volunteers are attorneys. And more volunteers are needed.

OBA members including Judge Nancy Coats and Greg Ryan, Mike Turpen, Bill Larson and Fred Leibrock have assisted as members of the Board of Directors. Mike Turpen and Burns Hargis serve as the Masters of Ceremony for the annual Celebrity Waiters Gala fundraiser. Celebrity waiters have included Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane and U.S. Attorney (W.D. Ok.) Robert McCampbell. Wes Lane also serves currently on the Advisory Board. OBA member Jane Ann Dixon is a full-time staff member of the CARE center serving as the team coordinator.

But more help is needed. The CARE Center needs the pro bono assistance of bar members who could review legal questions and concerns about testamentary gifts, leases, contracts, fundraising, issues of confidentiality and small business-type matters, in addition to "garden variety" volunteers. As Fred Liebrock notes, "On any given day, matters dealing with evidence, criminal law, child welfare statutes, regulations or agency procedures and civil rights may and often do surface. These issues are often novel and must be addressed without ever losing focus of the fact that the paramount goal is to serve and protect the children who may have been abused."

The Comment to Rule 6.1, ORPC, advises that "Every lawyer, regardless of professional prominence or professional workload, should find time to participate in or _otherwise support the _provisions of legal services of the disadvantaged." One would be hard-pressed to think of any group crying out for volunteer services more than troubled children in need.

You are encouraged to contact the CARE Center at (405) 236-2100 or www.carecenter-okc.org.  You will find enriching this opportunity to offer pro bono services and, more importantly, to make a difference in the life of a child.

Please let us know of other agencies or entities that attorneys can partner with to fulfill their professional responsibility of providing pro bono services. Submissions should be forwarded to: probono@okbar.org  or Pro Bono Services Subcommittee, c/o Heidi J. Long, 204 N. Robinson, Suite 1550, Oklahoma City, OK 73102.