Court Appointed Special Advocates
In 1977, a Seattle juvenile court judge, David Souku, concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. From that first program has grown a network of more than 955 CASA and guardian ad litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states. 1977 seems like a long time ago. In that year, the space shuttle made its first test glide. The first Star Wars movie was in theaters. Jimmy Carter was president, and Elvis Presley died. That year was also a milestone of sorts in child protection. For the first time, the number of children in foster care topped half a million, about the same rate of placement as today. A new phrase—foster care drift—became a popular way to describe the increasingly long time many children spent in foster care. The times cried out for an innovation like CASA and volunteer guardian ad litem advocacy. Early on, leaders of the movement showed they were acutely aware of key issues that continue to affect the lives and future prospects of children in child protection systems throughout the country.
CASA founder, Judge David W. Souku, wrote these words on the 30th anniversary of CASA:
Ina Hughes wrote a wonderful poem titled “Prayer for Children” in which she tells us of two kinds of children. First, she talks about those who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money, who cover themselves with band-aids and sing off-key, who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup. Then she describes those who never get dessert, who have no safe blankets to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.
Over 30 years ago, while sitting as a judge in juvenile court, I realized that there was no one in the courtroom whose only job was to provide a voice for those children. Caseworkers have obligations to their agency, the parent and others. Lawyers cannot investigate the facts and advocate for the mental health and social needs of the child. Our court was a court of general jurisdiction, so when I was not sitting at juvenile court I was trying civil cases, often involving large amounts of money or important legal issues. I would do the best job I could in deciding those cases and leave them at the courthouse when I went home. I wouldn’t wake up at 4 a.m. worrying about my decision. While sitting at juvenile court, I never got a night’s sleep without waking to wonder if at least one decision I made that day had been the best for a child. It struck me that it might be possible to recruit and train volunteers to investigate a child’s case so they could provide a voice for the child in those proceedings, proceedings which could affect their whole lives.
For the past 34 years CASA has given voice to the voiceless in courtrooms across the U.S. Last year, more than 75,000 CASA and guardian ad litem (GAL) volunteers helped 240,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes. CASA volunteers are everyday citizens who have undergone screening and training with their local CASA/GAL program. Judges appoint CASA volunteers to represent the best interests of children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. Each year, more than 700,000 children experience foster care in this country. Because there are not enough CASA volunteers to represent all of the children in care, judges typically assign CASA volunteers to their most difficult cases.
Currently, there is no CASA program in Paris or Bourbon County. If you feel there is a need and would like to organize efforts to advocate for children in the courtrooms of our community visit this website to learn more.
Blessings,
Tracy