Sherman Oaks : Program Makes Court Easier for Kids to Bear

On a recent day in Los Angeles Children’s Court, two pretty, dark-haired girls attended a hearing that would determine whether their parents were fit to continue caring for them.

But the teenagers were distraught, recalled Gail McFarlane-Sosa, who runs the court’s waiting area for children. They sobbed and hid their faces behind their long hair. It was only when the administrator brought them each a furry little teddy bear that they stopped crying.

“That opened a door for the girls,” said McFarlane-Sosa, who is convinced that the stuffed animals gave the girls the emotional balm they needed to get through the hearing.

The girls received the teddy bears through a private program founded by Ernestine Fields, a Sherman Oaks lawyer who began Comfort for Court Kids to soothe the thousands of abused and neglected children who come to court each year.

In the past five years, Fields--named attorney of the year in September by the San Fernando Valley Bar Assn.--and her board of directors have raised enough money to distribute teddy bears to 30,000 children.

The recipients of the bears can use a lift. Generally, the cases heard in Children’s Court involve parents accused of abuse or neglect. The child may be allowed to continue living with his or her parents or be referred to a foster home or other living arrangement.

Before Fields started the project in 1990, the court had two stuffed animals that children could hold during the hearing, but the kids would have to give them back, even when they were separated from their parents and sent to a foster home right after the hearing.

Now attorneys hand out bears to the children during the hearing, and the children may take the stuffed animals with them when they leave. Although Comfort for Court Kids distributed almost 11,000 bears in the past fiscal year, there are not enough to go around. People wishing to donate to the program may call (818) 756-2015.

Before she became a lawyer, Fields--who is divorced and has two daughters--worked for a time as an elementary schoolteacher.

“I could not sit in the courtroom and see these little children dissolving into tears,” she said. “With my training and experience, I felt I could help them.”