I Love My Casa So Much
| Publication year | 2019 |
| Pages | 16 |
| Citation | Vol. 88 No. 10 Pg. 16 |
November, 2019
"I love my CASA so much.
Can I take her to show and tell?"
by Susan Saidian
A CASA is more formally known as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASAs are volunteers who receive special training over eight weeks, must pass a background check and commit to the time necessary to meet with children in foster care who have been adjudicated by the court system to be "in need of care.”
In Kansas, there are 23 local CASA organizations overseen and aided by CASA of Kansas. It has long been a force for good for children who find themselves in the court system due to abuse and/or neglect.
The National CASA Association got its start in 1977 when Judge David Soukup in Nevada had to determine what was in the best interests of a three-year-old who had suffered abuse and neglect. His idea was to have volunteers who would advocate for the child with actual information obtained from interactions with the child and who would also be parties to child in need of care proceedings where abuse or neglect was involved. He needed someone who could tell him what was in the best interest of the child, using information from the child's perspective—something that could only be provided by someone who had direct interaction with the child other than the state or the parents. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ayoDh_v8tSM
Judge Soukup's idea materialized into the Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem program, which
ultimately got its start in Seattle, Wash., and which now has local programs in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
A CASA meets with a child, listening to the child and observing the child's behavior. Each CASA volunteer must meet with their child a minimum of once a month throughout their appointment to the case. Most of the time, the volunteer meets with the child far more frequently. The average time a volunteer is assigned to a child is two years. The training CASAs receive enables them to elicit information they can then incorporate into a report that is provided to the judge—sort of an expert report on the child's status. In Kansas, the CASA is NOT a party to the proceedings. CASAs participate in every court hearing and all other meetings and staffings regarding the child. Judges rely heavily on the court report, even though the CASA is not a party to the case (CASAs cannot present evidence, call...
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