Above and Beyond . . .
The CASA program strives to have a volunteer for ever child who is declared a CHINS. We are always in need of new volunteers so we can be prepared for new cases.
Though all cases are different, and eventually all cases are closed, either by order of the court after all directives have been carried out or because the children "age out" of the system, in some special cases special effort is applied by the CASA to bring a case to the best resolution for the children.
This page describes some of those special efforts.
Amanda: CASA since 2001  Amanda was appointed to represent a young teenage girl in December of 2006. Last year, the girl ran away from her placement in another county. Amanda was able to make contact with her through the child’s ‘My Space’ web page. She arranged to have the child come in to her on Sunday. (She had run away on Wednesday.) Amanda called the director on Sunday to report that the child had not shown up as promised. Amanda stated, “If I have to go house to house, I’m going to find her.” Mind you, the young lady was over an hour away from Amanda's home. The director did not doubt her and, two hours later, Amanda called to report she had her and was taking the child to a staff member at a more secure placement.
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Kathy: CASA since 2001 In July of 2006, Kathy was appointed to represent four little girls ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years old. The girls had been subjected to severe neglect. The younger two relied on the older two for safety and to meet their basic needs like food and diaper changes. It was a long case. Last year it was proposed to split the girls into two homes. The two older girls would remain in the home in which they all had been placed at the beginning of the case and where they had been adopted. The younger two girls would be moved into their father’s home. The youngest child had been in that same home since she was 6 months old. By then she was 2 years old and knew no other home except for that placement. Kathy fought to keep the girls together. They had always counted on each other for safety and Kathy knew separating them into two homes would be traumatic to all four of the girls. The CASA persevered, the court agreed, and allowed the girl’s placement home to obtain guardianship of the younger girls. In addition, the father has extensive visitation rights with all of the children, not just the younger two who are biologically his girls.
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Sandy: CASA since 2007 Sandy's first case assignment involved an infant whose mother had mental health issues and was a threat to the child’s safety. The father continued to be supportive of the mother. This case had the potential to drag on in the court system for a long time because there was extended family involved and many strong personalities pushing for their particular point of view. By establisheing a relationship with the family members Sandy was able to work with them to devise a plan to keep the baby safe from further contact with the mother and provide a permanent resolution to the CHINS case that was satisfactory to all of the parties involved. Thanks to the CASA’s willingness to connect to the family, a guardianship was established with the father’s stepmother, a solution to which everyone involved gave consent.
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