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It’s
Easy To Help...
CALL 720.565.3898
Voices
for Children
2305 Canyon Boulevard, Suite 101
Boulder, CO 80302
303.440.7059
vfccasa@aol.com
www.vfccasa.org
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Being
chauffeured between a foster home and a "supervised visit"
with a parent gives some
kids a chance to tell Court Appointed Special Advocates, CASAs,
in the Voices For Children program about the complexities of their
lives.
So does going out for an ice cream or going to a ball game.
"Kids
talk in cars. When they are not looking at you, they tell
you so much," says one longtime advocate.
Sometimes those casual conversations are not easy to hear.
Stories of physical abuse. The party habits of drug-addicted
parents. Violence at home. Other signs that a child’s
"best interests," or perhaps needs as basic as safe
shelter and food, are not being met. |
Click on image for larger picture |
Strip
away the language and the point is clear: The child’s health,
well-being or life may be in jeopardy.
So CASAs – 98 at last count, assigned to one case at a time
– listen to the kids. They talk with parents. They observe
court-ordered visitations. They report the results.
The goal is to reintegrate a child "in the system" with
a healthy future.
Highly trained, CASAs evolve from folks who get involved because
they care about kids to expert witnesses, who sometimes testify
in court on a child’s behalf. They work closely with guardians
ad litem, GALs – lawyers who represent the kids.
"GALs and CASAs are critical … in that they can perform
investigations and make observations outside the courtroom that
are invaluable to the courts," noted Judge Roxanne Bailin of
the 20th Judicial District. She added that the "desire to make
children safe" is the cornerstone of everyone’s efforts.
As
a team, CASAs and GALs become life preservers that buoy the child
through a sea of legal issues, social-service investigations, hearings,
foster placements and health and mental-health considerations.
Sometimes they help parents find a bus. A way to get mom or dad
to a visit tomorrow. Sometimes they help parents find the door.
A way to get the child to tomorrow.
Volunteering as a child’s advocate is tough work, sometimes
defined by the small smile of a frightened child; more often defined
by the bond that smile represents.
Remember the job: "Caring about kids and wanting the best things
to happen for kids in bad circumstances."
CASAs range from 21 to 75 years old. Men. Women. High school grads.
College grads. Professors. Professionals. Objective voices in raging
seas. They’re here "just for them." The kids.
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