Court Appointed Special Advocates are called CASAs, they are very special volunteers that speak for children who are under the jurisdiction of the court, in foster care.
I’m the mom of a toddler, and I have a full-time job. I
often find myself answering the question “Why be a CASA when you have such
little free time?” In each case a CASA has, there are moments that show you why.
On one case I was assigned to, the foster care worker was
switched three times. The two siblings under the age of three had been
separated and put back together, changing foster homes three times until they
were ultimately adopted. These moves brought about a change of counselors and
two changes of day care providers. The children also experienced inconsistent
visits with their parents. One thing,
however, remained the same throughout the case, and that was me, the CASA.
As their CASA, I saw them 1-2 times a week, observing visits
with their parents, attending counseling sessions, and visiting them at their
foster homes. The younger sibling is a girl who at the beginning of the case
was more comfortable around males than females. She was just learning to talk,
but would not say much, if anything at all, around females. Towards the end of
the case, which lasted over a year, I went to visit both siblings at their
foster, soon-to-be adoptive, home. When I walked in the door, the little girl
came running up to me with arms wide open, excited to see me and screaming my
name. This was the moment when I knew I
made a difference in her life and served my purpose as the CASA on her case. Not
just because my court reports and work with each foster care worker and foster
parent was instrumental in the termination trial, but because I made a difference and created a trusting
bond with a little girl, as well as her brother, whose lives had been a
whirlwind from the beginning.
More than a year has gone by since that case closed, and I recently
ran into the children with their “forever family” at an event. Without missing
a beat, the little boy, now 5, and girl, now 4, came up to me and gave me a big
hug. It’s moments like these – or when I see a happy, healthy toddler now in a
loving family, and remember when I was the CASA for that child, then a baby a
week away from possible death because he was starved – that make all the work,
reports, court hearings, visits, and missed free time worth every second of
being a CASA volunteer. While there isn’t
monetary compensation for time spent as a CASA, the lasting impression that
these children leave on your life and that you leave on theirs is more
rewarding than anything else.
To learn more about what it takes to be a CASA, please visit our website cancouncil.org, or call Randy D. Roberts at (989)752-7226
