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As a community partner with the Family Court of St. Louis County, CASA works closely with the Deputy Juvenile Officers, Children’s Division workers and Guardian Ad Litems (GALs) on cases of abuse, neglect and abandonment. According to Rene Lusser, a Guardian Ad Litem at the Family Court, he believes the different and independent perspective that a CASA volunteer can bring is important in most instances and is a true partnership. “The advent of the CASA concept has been a very valuable addition to the administration of justice, but more importantly, making sure the best interests of a child and/or family is achieved,” said Lusser. Judge Michael Burton went on to explain how a judge’s rulings are only as good as the information that is presented. In too many instances, judges do not have sufficient evidence to determine how a child in the system is doing. “One more voice for a child assures there is a better chance that all the child’s needs are met. The CASA provides that voice,” said Judge Burton. The Judge also shared that there are numerous occasions in which the CASA volunteer had a significant impact on a case -- on the life of a child. He also described how a CASA has the luxury of focusing much of his/her attention on one child or family at a time, unlike many other professionals involved in the case, who might have dozens or hundreds of children to assist. “While all opinions are equally important, the CASA’s opinions often catch our attention the most,” said Judge Burton. In many examples, the CASA’s task is not an enviable one. Many CASA cases are the most hotly contested, which is one of the many reasons why a judge sees it appropriate to get a CASA involved in the first place. “As difficult as it may be, we count on the CASA to make the child’s needs known. The more confident CASAs feel about what they are doing, the more vocal they are and ultimately the better represented the children become,” explained Judge Burton. Deputy Juvenile Officers also believe the relationship with the CASA volunteer is very important. One of the duties of Angela Chladek, Assistant Manager Intake/Supervision, is to continuously assess the safety of the children assigned to her. “CASA volunteers are usually very effective at establishing a relationship with everyone involved in a case: the child, the foster parents or kinship providers, even the parents. It is not unusual for the best information to come from a CASA volunteer,” said Angela. Another program within the Family Court that has a high regard for the recommendations of the CASA volunteer is the SAFETI Program (Substance Abusing Families Engaged in Treatment and Intervention). This program is designed to provide parents with the support they need to meet the court-ordered requirements to regain physical and legal custody of their children. Kelly Vore, Community Support Worker for the SAFETI Program, believes that the CASA volunteer provides a valuable perspective, bringing balance to the SAFETI team meetings. Kelly described a recent case that involved a mom and her daughter residing in a women’s shelter for several months. “The CASA was a constant reliable source that filled a critical role in helping this family regain stability and safety,” said Kelly. In November, CASA will partner with the Family Court to celebrate National Adoption Day. This national day of celebration, which is scheduled on the 18th, will be filled with adoption finalizations of hundreds of children in foster care throughout the United States. This event is also a collective effort to raise the awareness of the growing number of children who still need permanent and loving homes. Judge Burton added, “I would love to have more CASA volunteers involved in all my cases. Every child needs to be heard.” There are more than 1,000 children who are under the jurisdiction of the Family Court of St. Louis County for substantiated abuse, neglect and/or abandonment and who are not currently served by a CASA volunteer. Please contact the CASA office to learn more about how to change the course of a foster child’s life. |
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