| Each month in Los Angeles County, more than 800 hurt,
frightened and confused children enter the Dependency Court,
or foster care, system. These are children who have been removed
from their parent’s custody because of severe abuse,
neglect or abandonment. A judge must make all of the important
decisions about each foster child’s life, such as where
the child lives, goes to school, whom the child may see, and
what health care, therapy and educational services should
be provided for the child. With almost 25,000 children under
court jurisdiction, this is an awesome task!
Introduction to CASA
CASA of Los Angeles supports volunteers who help abused and
neglected foster children in court and the community. A CASA,
or Court Appointed Special Advocate, is a trained and supervised
volunteer, appointed by a judge to advocate for a foster child
– a child who is under the court’s protection
because of abuse or neglect. A CASA volunteer provides an
independent investigation of the child’s circumstances
for the judge. The CASA gathers information, writes reports,
and makes recommendations to the judge in the child’s
best interests. CASA volunteers advocate for what they believe
to be in the child’s best interests and are responsible
for:
- Investigating and reporting the circumstances of the child
to the court;
- Facilitating the delivery of services ordered by the court
for the child;
- Monitoring compliance with other orders of the court;
and
- Advocating in court and the community for the best interests
of the child.
CASA volunteers maintain regular visits with the children
they serve, getting to know the child as an individual, not
just a case. CASA volunteers make a difference in the lives
of foster children, one child at a time, by ensuring they
receive the support and help they deserve. Studies have shown
that children with CASAs receive more assistance and support
than children without. When a foster child has a CASA, that
child has a consistent adult guaranteeing that the child’s
needs are heard and addressed in court. The CASA volunteer
is often the most stable presence in a foster child’s
life and for many foster children, the CASA volunteer is the
only person who is not paid to care for them. CASA volunteers
bring the voice of the community into a child welfare system
that is often overly bureaucratic and legalistic.
The History of CASA
The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program originated
in Seattle, Washington in 1977 by Judge David Soukup, the
Presiding Judge of King County Superior Court.
Judge Soukup saw a rise in the number of child abuse and
neglect cases appearing before his court and felt that he
was not getting the information he needed to determine the
best placement for each child’s circumstances. The Guardian
Ad Litem (the child’s legal representative), though
charged with advocating for the best interests of the child,
often had neither the time nor the training to provide adequate
information to the court. Social workers were equally overburdened.
At Judge Soukup’s request, the Seattle court began recruiting
and training volunteers to serve as advocates for children
in abuse and neglect cases. In 1978 a nationwide study was
conducted for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention to evaluate volunteer programs in juvenile courts.
The Seattle program was termed one of the most successful
and innovative.
When the Seattle program was found to be so successful, other
courts began to organize CASA programs. The Los Angeles Superior
Court created CASA of Los Angeles in 1978, making it one of
the first five CASA programs in the nation. Friends of CASA
of Los Angeles was created in 1983 to raise funds to support
the program, and CASA of Los Angeles is now a public-private
partnership between the Los Angeles Superior Court and Friends
of CASA, a non-profit organization. In 1982, the National
CASA Association was formed to direct CASA’s emerging
national presence. Currently there are more than 900 programs
in all 50 states with more than 52,000 volunteers serving
over 206,000 children.
CASA of Los Angeles Today
Children benefit from CASA volunteers every day, but the
needs of CASA of Los Angeles continue to grow. With one of
the largest foster care populations in the country, L.A. County
is in need of individuals willing to make a difference in
the lives of its most needy children. CASA of Los Angeles
actively recruits, screens and trains
volunteers to advocate on behalf of foster children. With
additional funding, Friends of CASA
can continue to expand their resources to support even more
CASA volunteers making a difference.
All foster care cases in L.A. County take place in either the
Alfred J. McCourtney Juvenile Justice Center in Lancaster
(serving cases in the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys),
or the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court located ten
minutes from downtown Los Angeles.
The majority of cases in L.A. County are heard at the Edmund
D. Edelman Children’s Court, which was opened in 1992,
after many years of planning and fundraising. Planning in
the 1980’s ensured that the building is sensitive to
the needs of children and families going through the foster
care system, including smaller courtrooms, lower judge podiums,
one long table instead of two “sides” of tables,
and a complete youth center in which foster children who come
to court without caregivers can play, study and relax. The
Edelman Children’s Court was the first of its kind,
now serves as a model to other Dependency Courts, and has
easy freeway access located next to the 710 and 10 freeways.
CASA of Los Angeles’ main office
is in the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court in Monterey
Park, with a satellite office in Lancaster
that serves the Antelope Valley at the Alfred J. McCourtney Juvenile Justice Center.
To learn more about CASA, please
visit:
National
CASA (www.casaforchildren.org)
The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association’s
website lists CASA programs throughout the country that screen
and train community volunteers to advocate for abused and
neglected children in court.
CASAnet
(www.casanet.org)
CASAnet is the national support website for CASA volunteers
and program staff.
Los
Angeles Superior Court’s Juvenile Court
The Los Angeles Juvenile Court’s website provides information
about CASA of Los Angeles, the Edmund D. Edelman Children’s
Court, and other support programs for children in foster care
in L.A. County.
To report child abuse, neglect
or abandonment contact the Los Angeles County Child Protection
Hotline at 1-800-540-4000.
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