What is CASA? CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. Far too many children each year are removed from their homes through no fault of their own. I can’t even begin to imagine the terror a child must feel when a stranger shows up to take him to stay with other strangers. Then there’s a never ending parade of more strangers. Those strangers can consist of police, caseworkers, judges, doctors, therapists, attorneys, teachers, social workers, foster homes, and more. It’s enough to make my head spin. CASA was developed to be a calm in the storm.
CASA is made up of volunteers who want to work with the children in a friendship or mentor capacity. The court appoints the volunteers to the children and each CASA volunteer is usually with the child throughout the case regardless of its disposition. A child may bounce from foster placement, home, placement, other family, placement, home, and on and on. Meanwhile, that CASA volunteer is always there to provide a friendly ear to listen, voice to give feedback, and consistency of presence. For children who don’t have a stable home life with the same bed at the end of each day, CASA can make a huge difference in a child’s long-term outcome.
I don’t understand how CASA works in all the counties in my district in Texas. I’ve had children from three different counties. Some children from the same county had a CASA volunteer and some didn’t. All of my interactions with CASA have been lovely and they care about these children so much. It’s hard to say how the children’s relationship with CASA will unfold over the years because our placements with a CASA volunteer have been infants. I love reading the stories on the CASA site about the lives CASA has touched, though. I’m sure my children will feel the same way.