HARRISBURG (May 9, 2005) � The Pennsylvania Bar Association Children�s Rights Committee presented its 2005 Child Advocate of the Year Award to attorney Jodi A. Bevevino, guardian ad litem for Forest and Warren counties. The award was presented on April 22 during the committee�s spring meeting in Harrisburg.

The Child Advocate of the Year Award was established to recognize the accomplishments of lawyers and judges who are advocates for children within the commonwealth or who are involved with child advocacy.

In nominating Bevevino for the award, one person described Bevevino as someone who demonstrates a concern for each and every child she represents; always showing professionalism, integrity and determination while working with the complex, heart-wrenching issues that impact children and families involved in the child welfare system.

Since 2000, Bevevino has served as the guardian ad litem in the vast majority of cases of dependency, termination of parental rights and custody cases in Forest and Warren counties. She also serves as an advocate for children as a member of the Child Abuse Prevention Committee for the community. She was instrumental in the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Steering Committee, which worked on and accomplished the establishment of a CASA program in Warren and Forest counties.

Prior to serving as guardian ad litem, Bevevino was a law clerk to Judge James A. Brogan, Second District Court of Appeals, in Dayton, Ohio, from 1988 to 1990 and worked in the Public Defender�s Office of Warren County, Pa., from 1991 to 1995. She had a private law practice in Warren, Pa., from 1995 to 2000.

Bevevino is active in the community, serving on the Warren County Literacy Council, the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center and the Traveling Art Gallery. She holds a second-degree black belt and is a certified instructor in the Ji Do Kwon style of Tae Kwon Do.

Bevevino is a graduate of Dickinson College and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.