A Child’s Voice
Nervously, my CASA supervisor and I sloshed through mud puddles toward the sad, dilapidated house where, as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), she and I were making a home visit to check on my three charges. The toddlers, recently in foster care, had been returned to their mother, who was required to complete a court-ordered safety plan to ensure the children’s well-being. We walked around the small home through the cold January rain to knock on the front door, which was barely hanging onto the hinges. I noticed broken and rotten floorboards on the porch. We waited. From inside, someone yelled, “Come to the back door.”
We made our way through the yard past abandoned toys to the back door. Again, I knocked. And waited. I noticed a bowl of soggy cat food near the unpainted and poorly fitted door. A woman dressed in short-shorts and a cotton t-shirt finally opened the door holding a small child. Two other toddlers peered out from behind her legs. Despite the cold, rainy weather, the toddlers were clothed only in diapers and t-shirts. Upon entering the kitchen, we noticed a small space heater easily accessible to the children, so we asked the mother to move it to a safer location. After noticing that the children’s beds were strewn with discarded clothes and toys, we suggested that the mother put warmer clothes on the toddlers. We asked the mother if she had had any success finding a job, vaccinating the children, or registering for daycare. She answered no to all three questions.
This was my first home visit as a CASA volunteer, and although I did not know it yet, these toddlers would again be removed from their mother, who had not made progress in following the Court’s required safety plan. In fact, the mother tested positive for drug use, and the children’s hair follicles revealed that they, too, had been exposed to drugs. The children were subsequently removed from their mother and sent to live with a foster family who opened their arms to all three.
As a CASA volunteer and a former school principal and teacher, I am aware that poverty is not a valid indicator of parental fitness and child safety. Many children, though poor, thrive in the home of a loving family. Conversely, children from middle-class and wealthy families can be victims of abuse or neglect. Money is not a determinant for how fit a parent is; it can merely be a factor.
Each year, thousands of children in Georgia are placed in foster care due to unsafe conditions. Court Appointed Special Advocates are volunteers trained to advocate for abused or neglected children in foster care, understanding that all children deserve to live in a safe and permanent home if reunification with their parents is not an option. The goal of CASA is never to remove a child from their family; it is merely to reunify a family and offer resources to help distressed families. Sometimes those goals are achieved; other times, however, they are not.
I became aware of CASA through a long-time friend and CASA supervisor who suggested that I consider becoming a CASA volunteer. As a recent retiree, I was looking for ways to serve my community and children. Judges appoint CASAs to advocate on behalf of children in court. Sadly, more than twenty-one thousand children are in foster care in Georgia, with roughly one hundred foster care children residing in Troup County. Children in foster care are placed into five different homes on average. Children with a CASA volunteer, however, are less likely to be moved from foster home to foster home and are more likely to find safe, permanent homes. CASAs stay with the child from beginning to end, and sometimes even after the end result. They build relationships with the child and family and try their best to keep them together. Children need someone that is always in their corner and who will be a voice for them.
My orientation and training consisted of several evening classes in the basement of the Troup County Juvenile Courthouse. The judge offered an overview of CASA and the need for volunteers, explaining that, while foster children have attorney representation, their best interests are not always clearly represented in court. For example, a ten-year-old may wish to return to an unsafe mother, and the child’s attorney must express those wishes in court. A CASA’s responsibility is to speak on behalf of the best interests of the child, meet (or Facetime) with the child at least once per month, stay in touch with the foster family, reach out to agencies that can assist the child, and be the voice for the child in court. CASA volunteers are always looking for agencies and resources that help their children and children’s family.
During the training, I was impressed with my ten fellow volunteers. One young lady was a full-time medical student who commuted to Atlanta. Another woman was a former educator, like me, who had changed careers to be a realtor. A man in his thirties was a general contractor who worked in Columbus. These, and others, worked or attended school full time, yet they found time in their busy schedules to be a CASA volunteer.
On Court Day, a CASA is sworn in as a witness. (Zoom meetings have replaced courthouse gatherings during COVID.) Included in the panel beside the judge and other court administrators are attorneys for all parties, the parent(s), the foster parent(s), and the Department of Family and Child Services’ (DFACS) case manager. Other resource representatives such as a Parent Aid or a counselor, and other witnesses, such as a lab tech who may have administered a drug test to a parent, may also be present. The judge presides over the hearing, allowing attorneys to present evidence and question witnesses. The parent must demonstrate progress in a safety plan for reunification. Such plans can include procuring adequate housing and a job, taking drug tests, learning parenting or budgeting skills, and other remedies for ensuring the child’s safety. Upon hearing the evidence, the judge invites the parent(s) and foster family to make a statement or ask questions. The CASA report can then be amended, if necessary, based on the testimony. Finally, the judge rules on the placement of the child. Often, the judge encourages the parent to continue “working the plan” while the child remains in foster care. This ensures that if, or when, the child returns home to their family, it is the best version of their family that they can return to.
If the parent successfully completes the safety plan, the judge will likely reunify the child and parent, strongly considering the attorneys’, DFACS’, and CASA's recommendations. If the parent cannot or will not complete the safety plan, or if for some other reason the child should not be reunited with the parent, the child may remain in foster care or be adopted.
While it is incredibly fulfilling and worthwhile to play a role in providing the best possible environment for at-risk children, it’s not easy. Shortly after the three toddlers involved in my initial case were placed with a foster family, the “mom” sent me a video of them laughing, playing, and frolicking in their new home. In this situation, these children were removed from their homes and now live with a foster family, because there are times — difficult times — when, in our view and that of the courts, placing a child with their birth parents puts them in a precarious position.
Still, in spite of the difficulties, we move forward with the same goal in mind: to be the voice for the voiceless, to look out and advocate for our community’s children, and, hopefully, to bring families back together. And tough as it can be to do this work, hearing the laughter of those children was music to my ears.