SMETHPORT — Officials of CASA of McKean County were guests of Smethport Rotarians Tuesday and presented information about this program that trains volunteer advocates to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children ages birth to 21 years during dependency cases.
Suzy Meyer-Page, executive director, and Jessica London, advocate supervisor, attended the noon meeting at the Desert Rose Café.
Authorized by the Juvenile Act, CASA was established in 1977 by a Seattle family court judge who saw a system in place for foster children was underfunded and overworked. “A CASA would be a single adult volunteer, outside of that system, trained to advocate for each child’s individual needs,” London noted. “This volunteer serves as the eyes and ears of the court by providing information the judge needs in order to make a decision in the child’s best interest.”
CASA is now active in 49 states — except North Dakota — and follows the national CASA standards.
Thanks to the support of Leadership McKean, Kelly Compton, McKean County commissioners, Office of Human Services and President Judge John Pavlock, CASA came to McKean County in 2013. It began operations in November 2014. The first class, nine volunteers, was sworn in May 2015.
London said, “The CASA program of McKean County, in concert with the national and state CASA programs, provides volunteers who are committed to support the local court as advocates of abused and neglected children, toward breaking the cycle of child abuse so that children can thrive in safe, permanent, nurturing homes.”
London pointed to the need for CASA. Citing statistics as of Dec. 31, 2017, she said, “We were serving 24 percent of children in placement in McKean County.”
Meyer-Page added, “Our goal is for every child to have a CASA.”
Meanwhile, approximately 400,000 foster children nationwide are waiting for a CASA volunteer.
CASA volunteers must be at least 21 years old. Applicants must pass state criminal background checks, Childline child abuse history, FBI fingerprint clearance and Sex Offender Registry check. Thirty hours of training — usually nine weeks in Smethport — are followed by a dependency court observation before the volunteers are officially sworn in at the courthouse.
Topics covered during the training area child protection system and the courts, cultural competence, well being of the child, trauma and resilience, communication skills, mental health, poverty, domestic violence and substance abuse and educational advocacy.
CASA volunteers are assigned to one case at a time or multiple children within a case as a sibling group, according to London.
What are some of the benefits of CASA? London said, “CASA volunteers help save on child welfare costs by reducing long-term placement, subsequent victimization, repeat abuse/neglect and reentry into the foster care system. In fact, more than 90 percent of children with CASA volunteers never re-enter the child welfare system.”
Local funding for CASA comes from various sources, such ass private foundations, corporations and individual contributions, as well as the United Way of Bradford and Smethport. This marks the first year that funds have been a line item in the county budget.
