Meet Ethan Hibbard: Uplifting Voices of Clinton County's Children

Ethan Hibbard, Director of Advocacy at The Voice for Clinton County’s Children, spoke with us about the urgent work his team is doing to support children and families navigating trauma, foster care, and the added pressures facing LGBTQ+ youth.

After traumatic events, children and their families need a safe and comforting place to find support services, case management, referrals to community partners, and court assistance. The Voice for Clinton County’s Children partners with professionals in medicine, law enforcement, MDHHS, and the prosecutor’s office to provide forensic interviews for children in open investigations for abuse and neglect and reduce the number of times a child must talk about abusive incidents by working as a team so the child does not have to repeatedly relive trauma.

The Voice for Clinton County’s Children also recruits, trains, and oversees Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). These dedicated volunteers work with youth in foster care by building meaningful relationships and advocating for their best interests in court. CASA volunteers complete extensive training on trauma, child development, child welfare, advocacy, DEIB, and the court process, are sworn in by the court, and are matched intentionally with a child or sibling group whom they meet regularly throughout court involvement

Ethan has worked in children’s advocacy centers as an advocate for children for the last decade, and has led LGBTQ+ trainings for parents and for child-serving professionals focused on minority stress and resilience. He emphasized that family acceptance remains the strongest protective factor for LGBTQ+ youth and described training strategies that help reframe parents' protective instincts as strengths, with a strong understanding that parents want their children to live full, healthy, happy lives. Family rejection is the number one predictor of negative health outcomes for queer youth, including increased rates of suicide, substance use, heart disease, and more. Ethan hopes to work alongside the SJ Call-in Coalition to offer these trainings in our community

Ethan also discussed the growing political and funding instability affecting social services. Recent mandates have been pushing organizations to remove DEI language and explicit references to LGBTQ+ youth from materials, with the implicit threat of reduced funding for noncompliance. He pointed to an earlier, alarming funding pull affecting National CASA as a sign of how quickly partners can be destabilized. Despite these challenges, Ethan framed advocacy work as more important than ever.

Ethan offered a direct message to queer youth and anyone else who feels alone or defeated: “Get involved”. Volunteerism, grassroots organizing, and community visibility are practical ways young people can build power and resilience. He also urged advocates to build and lean on peer networks for mutual support, noting that shared effort makes sustained work less isolating and more resilient.

His work is a clear reminder that coordinated, compassionate advocacy and community action matter now more than ever.

You can learn more about the Voice for Clinton County’s Children on their website, and be sure to follow them on social media to stay up-to-date on ways you can support or share their mission. They are hard at work now gathering donations for their annual Toys for Tots drive to provide holiday support for families across Clinton County.

voiceforclintoncountychildren.org/