by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
Helen Spohrer was first accepted to law school in 1975, but she didn’t graduate until 2000.
She had just wed her husband, Jacksonville attorney Bob Spohrer, when the University of Florida accepted her into its law program. She decided that a constant commute to Gainesville wasn’t the best way to start a marriage.
Instead of school, Spohrer focused her efforts on raising her two children. Now, 30 years later, she’s combining her nurturing skills with her recent JD degree at the local Guardian ad Litem. The network of professional staff and community volunteers aims to advocate in court and create positive systemic change on behalf of abused and neglected children.
“I started law school when our children were in high school,” said Spohrer, who attended Florida Coastal School of Law. “The years of raising children were on-the-job training.”
Spohrer joined Guardian ad Litem in May to direct the Permanency Team. The Florida Bar Foundation-funded project aims to speed up the completion of adoptions in the Jacksonville area. Spohrer advocates for adoptable children and recruits other lawyers to navigate the bureaucracy and paperwork that can delay a permanent placement.
“She has developed systems that help us track children and monitor their progress,” said Circuit Court Judge David Gooding, who has worked with Spohrer and other agencies to increase the number of local adoptions from 258 to 352 over the last year. Jacksonville had the most adoptions in Florida last year, beating Miami by one.
“Helen’s efforts are leveraged because, from the efforts of one attorney, she’s recruited 38 volunteer attorneys,” said Gooding. “That’s nothing short of remarkable.”
Spohrer originally went into private practice at her husband’s law firm, but a slew of foster care abuse cases led her toward Guardian ad Litem.
“I started getting a number of cases of children who had not survived in foster care,” said Spohrer. “I would sit there and think, ‘By the time somebody comes to see me, it’s too late.’ ”
Spohrer decided she needed a change after she was asked to file a lawsuit on behalf of the adoptable children in Duval County whose adoptions simply weren’t happening.
“I don’t think that people in Duval County realize the crisis that we have,” she said. “I didn’t realize it until it was presented to me two years ago.”
Jim Adams, chief executive officer at Family Support Services of North Florida, said Spohrer frequently calls his agency to point out issues or cases that need attention.
“I can’t say enough nice things about her. She keeps the system, and that includes us, on our toes,” said Davis, adding that Spohrer frequently goes beyond the requirements of her job. He said when a foster child runs away, Spohrer “gets in her car and goes through the roughest area of Jacksonville trying to get these kids to come back.”
That dedication doesn’t strike Spohrer as unusual. She said the staff at agencies like Guardian ad Litem has to be supportive and passionate because the work is stressful.
“This isn’t the kind of job that you can nine-to-five,” said Spohrer.
Spohrer explained that she doesn’t hesitate to check on her cases over the weekend.
“They’ll say, ‘It’s Saturday. What are you doing?’ ” she said. “I think I am a mom who is conveniently a lawyer.”
Now that her son and daughter are in their 20s, Spohrer said it can be tempting to consider taking care of foster children herself.
“People say, ‘Does Bob know how close he is to you bringing a whole bunch of kids home?’ ”
Bob said the Spohrer family has been supportive of Helen’s work since her law school days, when she sympathized with the children over homework.
“She sort of put that dream of being an attorney on hold until our children were grown,” said Bob. “The position she’s in now allows her to use her legal skills along with her maternal skills. We’re all very proud of her.”