Advocating for children: Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers give a voice to children in foster care

When children are taken from their homes and put into foster care, they become part of a system that is responsible for meeting their needs, but it doesn't necessarily give them a voice in what's happening.

The national Court Appointed Special Advocate program was designed to ensure that those children have someone who is there just for them.

"The agency provides voices for children who are in foster care," says Linda Nash, executive director of CASA of Southeast Missouri. "We provide juvenile justice advocacy for those children, so they can have their concerns and wishes heard in court in a way that will allow the judge to better understand what's going on in their lives."

CASA of Southeast Missouri, started in 1992, works with the Juvenile Office and the Missouri Children's Division, both of which Nash says are doing great work, but their employees have heavy caseloads and less time to spend with the children than CASA volunteers do.

"If we can get individual citizens to come and volunteer and train to be advocates, they can spend more time with the children," she says.

Cutline-File Credit:Tammy Johnston, a CASA volunteer, visits with a child at Hope Children's Home in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Before CASA volunteers are assigned to cases, they receive 30 hours of training, Nash explains. The training lasts five weeks and is split between online and classroom teaching. Volunteers complete three hours of online training each week, followed by three hours in the classroom.

"We use the same program Southeast Missouri University uses for online teaching," Nash says. "It's an interactive program."

Students ask questions and have online discussions, and some feel they already know one another when they meet later in the week for the classroom training. Part of the training involves taking a trip to court, since the CASAs need to make court appearances.

Each volunteer starts with one case. Technically, each child constitutes a case, Nash explains, but in instances when a child has brothers or sisters, the entire sibling group is assigned to the same CASA volunteer.

The job of the CASA is to spend time with the children on a one-on-one basis and find out as much as they can about the circumstances surrounding their cases, from the children's perspective. The CASA must establish a rapport with the children so they feel comfortable confiding in the CASA. The CASA might try to find out, for example, how the children feel about going back into the home with their parents, whether that is what the children want, and why or why not.

The volunteer program is ideal for people who are retired, not only because they have extra time, but because they have usually finished with child-rearing and have experience with family matters, Nash says.

"There are so many individuals, no matter what their age, but especially those who are over having quite so many requirements and restrictions in their lives have so much to give," Nash says. "They care about these kids. They care about the future of our country and about our area."

In Southeast Missouri, about half the CASA volunteers are 50 or older, Nash says, and half are employed.

Pat Kaempfer, 65, works at The Bank of Missouri and says she has been a CASA volunteer for about three years.

"The role of the CASA is to make a connection with the children," she says.

Volunteers are required to spend four to six hours per month with the child or children in the case assigned to them.

"Perhaps at the beginning of a case a little more time is required," Nash says.

Kaempfer says she sees the children in her case at least once a month, but often more than that. She says she has volunteered with other charities involving children, but this work is different.

"I think we really make a difference in the lives of the kids we advocate for," she says.

Sometimes the work is saddening because of what the children have been through, but the point is to try to make their lives better, Kaempfer notes.

Mary Busse, 70, has been a CASA for nearly two years. She retired 10 years ago after a 30-year career at the National Institutes of Health.

Visits to the home of the children are part of the casework because it gives the CASA more insight to how the children live, and it's not a difficult part of the job.

"That's the easy part. Getting the kids to talk can be the hard part," says Busse. "Nobody wants to squeal on their family."

But getting all the facts of the situation from the children's perspective is essential. CASA volunteers take meticulous notes about their findings during visits with the children and write a detailed report that is presented in court.

Busse says she's made about five court appearances so far.

"They ask your opinion, and that opinion better be backed up with facts," she says.

Nash says she believes the CASA's report is weighed heavily by the courts.

"We think the judges recognize that our people are there because they want to be and are able to get information from kids that state agencies are not," she says.

For those who have time to volunteer and are interested in children's welfare, working as a CASA is something to look into.

"If, in your heart, you really want to help children, CASA is a good place to start," Kaempfer says.

For more information about becoming a CASA, contact Stacey Wiley, volunteer coordinator, at 573-335-1726.