Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) provides a powerful voice for abused and neglected children in Lane County. Every day, judges decide the futures of these children in a court system that is too overburdened to focus adequately on the needs of each child. CASA trains and supports community volunteers to advocate for children and help to move them into safe, permanent homes.
- The Rotary Duck Race funds given to CASA has greatly improved their capacity to serve more kids.
- Last year, 1500 kids spent at least one night in foster care. It’s a very scary time for these kids. They are torn out of what they know and placed in a strange situation. It is the beginning of a very difficult road. A lot of kids fall through the cracks of the overburdened system. The average foster care stay is 2 years, which is a long long time for a small child.
- The foster child is in the middle of a bicycle wheel surrounded by “spokes” of adults making decisions for him/her. They aren’t necessarily focused on what is best for the child and are not necessarily communicating. The CASA volunteer stands in the middle next to the child and talks to all the adults and determines what is best for the child. This way, the overburdened judge has a better ability to make the best decision.
- CASA wants kids to be less likely to age out of the system and to get out of the system more quickly.
- CASA kids get help & services more often and more adequately. CASA volunteers look at everything from medical care, to schooling to social structures.
- Kids get bumped from foster home to foster home and case worker to case worker but the CASA volunteer is there throughout the process.
- CASA is a passion for a lot of people in our community. Bert Toepel is a CASA volunteer.
- A lot of people question how they can do it emotionally and time-management wise. The time requirement is only 10-15 hours a month. Half of the CASA volunteers work full time and still take vacations.
- Last year, CASA served 470 kids but there are 230 still waiting for a volunteer. It is very difficult to choose which children will not get a volunteer and CASA wants to change that by having more people volunteer.
- One of the volunteers spoke about how she assumed that foster homes are “better” than what the kids are coming out of. Her first case was with three boys who were in the same home together and in talking to the boys at their foster home, and she had an awkward feeling about the “perfect” home and behavior. As she got to know them and saw them at school and in different situations, and spent more time at the foster home, she came to understand that the situation was abusive. Without the CASA volunteer earning their trust, the system will not find out about these kinds of things as fast. The boys were transitioned to a better situation and eventually were adopted by their great-grandparents.
- Lawyers and case workers are super overloaded and cannot advocate, let alone really understand the cases.
- Each volunteer advocates for one child or one sibling group.
- At any one point in time, there are 700 children needing an advocate.
- The reasons for removal include drugs and alcohol (biggest reason). All kids are neglected or abused either physically, emotionally or sexually. Poverty is a big factor.
- 3/4 of current volunteers are female. Kids are 50/50.
- Volunteers are often retired, but you only have to be 21 to volunteer and there is a wide range of backgrounds. Retired teachers are common.
- There aren’t enough safe foster homes. Foster parents are definitely needed.
- About half of the kids go back to their parents. Parents have to show stability and if alcohol or drugs were a factor, they have to be sober for a period of time and have to attend parenting classes. The judge needs to see a commitment to improving the situation.
- Peer coordinators (volunteers) coach 4 CASAs to help or back up new CASAs as they learn the system. This helps with turnover and has allowed CASA to bring on more volunteers.