JUVENILE ADVOCATES NEEDED

Helping children under 17 years of age in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties is the goal of the Court-Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, volunteer.

And the CASA program, part of the Community Counseling Center, will be looking for volunteers again next month.

Mike Heston, CASA coordinator, said the court appoints volunteers to work with children after they are placed in "alternate" care.

Alternate care involves anytime children leave their parents or legal guardians. Often, the Division of Family Services or the juvenile office intervenes in such cases.

Heston said he sits down with the judge and the juvenile office and reviews cases that might be suitable for a CASA volunteer.

If the judge appoints CASA to investigate a child's circumstances, he assigns the case to one of the volunteers.

"Every case we get, the child is already out of the home," he said. "Usually a volunteer works on just one case at a time."

The CASA volunteer interviews parents, foster parents, neighbors, teachers and others to recommend what court action would best suit the child's circumstances.

"We're solely interested in the child," Heston said.

The volunteer then follows up to make sure families adhere to court orders to avoid future problems between the child and home. A CASA volunteer's case might be active for as long as a year.

Since its formation a couple of years ago, CASA, a non-profit organization, has operated thanks to a state grant. Heston said the grant will expire in June so the program might be in desperate need of funding soon.

"We're going to apply for the grant again," he said. "But you never know what's going to happen."

CASA started with seven volunteers and has grown to a staff of 24. Heston said the program needs 35 volunteers on staff.

Prospective volunteers must apply and submit to a police screening before the court assigns a case.

The application includes an oral interview where the volunteer discusses child rearing and other topics.

"Above everything else," Heston said, "we want the volunteer to be objective and do what's best for the child."

Heston said that is sometimes difficult when volunteers must spend so much time with the child.

"It's a fine line to walk, very fine," he said. "I really rather they err on the side of caring instead of being too distant."

Heston recommends that prospective volunteers should relate to children easily. They also should be objective and be able to write about what they see.

Volunteers need to devote two to four hours weekly to the CASA program.

The training for volunteers is extensive. "It will take 30 to 35 hours," Heston said. "We want to do a few hours a night for a couple of weeks."

He said the volunteer also will receive "hands-on" training before getting a case.

Heston hoped training for the new volunteers would be completed by the end of April.