This unique program matches youths in the care of the courts with volunteer advocates – role models and mentors who can offer solace, support and life-changing outcomes for kids whose lives are in turmoil.
When was the last time you did something that profoundly changed your life? Volunteering is always impactful and there is a myriad of causes worthy of our time, but the act of aiding youth in foster care can be truly transformational – for both parties.
Kids in the foster system are among those most critically requiring advocacy and support. Helping to address needs among the over 70,000 youth in foster care in California are Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). This unique program matches youths in the care of the courts with volunteer advocates – role models and mentors who can offer solace, support and life-changing outcomes for kids whose lives are in turmoil.
What is a CASA?
CASA volunteers are community members from all backgrounds and occupations who dedicate around 10 hours a month towards helping a child in the foster care system. Through spending one-on-one time with them, they gather information on that child’s circumstances in order to make recommendations to the court that will best support them. They advocate for the permanency, well-being and safety that each child deserves and that will help them flourish. In turn, the CASA program also immeasurably enriches the lives of its volunteers.
“Having someone that I was able to fully and authentically be vulnerable to, without fear of repercussions, was very important to me,” recalled Jessica Herrera, who was assigned a Court Appointed Special Advocate while in the foster system and is now herself a CASA in Los Angeles. “And if a need of mine wasn’t being advocated, she would make sure that it was.”
Having someone that I was able to fully and authentically be vulnerable to, without fear of repercussions, was very important to me.
— Jessica Herrera, age 22, a CASA volunteer formerly in foster care
Founded in 1976, the national CASA program was the brainchild of Seattle Superior Court Judge David Soukup after noticing that judges dealing with children’s cases often had insufficient information to accurately levy decisions that might impact a child’s entire life. For example, judges in the L.A. court system might see 35-40 cases per day. Judge Soukup saw a gap to be filled and believed that well-trained volunteers could ensure that children’s voices were heard and provide judges with the necessary insight to make the best possible decisions. Originally just a single program with a few dozen volunteers, today almost 1,000 CASA programs serve children in 49 U.S. states.
The California CASA Association was founded in 1987 at a time when only 17% of the state’s Superior Courts had access to CASA volunteers. It has since grown to serve kids and courts in 52 counties, where 99% of the state’s foster youth live. Los Angeles County alone is home to the nation’s largest foster care system with over 22,000 children and young adults in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services. Their advocacy needs are served by CASA of Los Angeles.
Herrera fondly recalls her own experiences with a CASA volunteer. “I saw her about once a month. Our favorite thing was to go get ice cream and go on adventures,” said Herrera, 22, of her CASA. “Probably the best moments that we had were in the car, just talking, sitting side by side.” Her experiences with the organization now inform the way she interacts with kids in foster care.
CASA volunteers speak up for the best interests of youth in foster care while providing a stable presence in their lives. Herrera, for example, was paired with the same CASA from when she entered the foster system at age 11 until she moved to L.A. to attend UCLA at age 17, and they remained in regular contact throughout her college years.
“I honestly think I would have been a much more angry person [without a CASA],” said Herrera. “If it weren’t for having someone who was willing to let that resentment out – that anger out – I think it would have definitely been detrimental to who I would have been as a person.”
Who Can Be a CASA?
CASA volunteers are recruited, vetted and trained by local programs in each county. It takes a caring, empathetic nature and consistent commitment to be a CASA, someone who can change the trajectory of a child’s life by helping to build self-confidence and resilience while advocating for their best interest in court, in schools and in the community.
“It’s important for you to have a thorough understanding of the community you’re working with,” said Herrera, who recently completed her CASA training and was matched with a child. “You’re working, for the most part, not only with youth with trauma but you’re working with youth who are more than likely a person of color, especially here in Los Angeles County.”
In 2020, three-quarters of children removed from their homes in L.A. County were Latino or Black. And according to a study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Black children represented 14% of America’s child population but 22% of all kids in foster care as of 2021. So, social awareness and cultural competency are crucial for a CASA as they inform a portion of their training.
For some advocates, volunteering may also complement their professional lives. Herrera works as a legal assistant for the nonprofit Alliance for Children’s Rights and sees herself continuing advocacy in the child welfare space; her former CASA is currently a therapist.
“I think I’ve seen her grow as much as she’s seen me grow,” said Herrera, whose advocate was in her mid-20s when they were first matched. “It’s been very beautiful to see that development in her and to know that this is what adulthood looks like when you are supported. She’s been a good example, even now into my adulthood.”
A Path To Help
CASA volunteers may be paired with youth of any age from infancy to young adulthood (created in 2010, California’s Extended Foster Care Program allows eligible youth to remain in foster care until age 21). Writing court reports is central to their advocacy, so the training includes learning how to assess a child’s needs and how to convey these in a court report.
Having this kind of volunteer nearby and available was invaluable to Herrera. “A lot of people went in and out of my life, but one of the people who has been there since the start was my CASA,” she said.
Beyond that, volunteers may also help with educational needs such as ensuring a child’s IEP (individualized education program) is up to date and helping with college applications; with medical needs such as ensuring regular checkups; or with mental health needs such as advocacy for the use of therapy where appropriate. A CASA might additionally support a child who is interested in exploring potential connections with family members.
“It’s going to teach you what community looks like and how community can be unconventional, and I think that can always be healing for a person,” said Herrera. “This is a program that really is directly impactful. You’re seeing someone navigate a system, and to see them grow and to see them become who they are will always be rewarding.”
Anyone in California interested in becoming a CASA volunteer can begin the application process here.
-Paul Rogers
