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After Pre-K one afternoon, Linda Timmerman, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), paid a visit to her assigned foster child who had previously been removed from her home and placed temporarily under the care of Child Protective Services (CPS). Beaming, the little girl showed Linda a smiley face sticker that she received for good behavior in school that day. Linda just wanted to cry! She remembers how touched she was by the little girl, who said, “Now that you are here, this is the best day of my life!”
For the past three years, Linda has volunteered for Voices for Children (VFC) CASA, the local chapter affiliated with the Texas CASA. Recently, she won VFC’s Advocate of the Year Award for 2021. VFC’s mission is to improve the lives of children in foster care through powerful volunteer advocacy, until each child is placed in a safe and permanent home. “We serve 597 kids with 179 active volunteers,” says Kristi Lester, VFC’s recruitment and events coordinator. “In 2021, there were 264 kids removed into CPS custody from Brazos County.”
When a child is removed from their home by CPS, the agency typically has a limited number of days to go to the court to show cause. “If the judge determines yes, there is cause that the kids do need to be removed and placed in CPS custody, that's when we're contacted,” Kristi says.
The next step is providing the child with a CASA volunteer who is a good fit for them. “In order for us to provide the best advocacy for each child, it is imperative that they are matched with a CASA volunteer who can not only relate to and understand the child's emotional needs, but can also identify with their cultural, religious, and familial backgrounds,” Kristi says.
“While the kid is in the CPS system, they're going to have, without fail, different case workers from the agency. They're probably going to, more than likely, be put in several different foster homes or group homes,” Kristi says. No matter where that child ends up or who their case worker is on any given week, that CASA volunteer is going to remain the same, she says, “so there's that consistency, that one consistent person in their life here in all this,” Kristi says. “And that's so important to these kids.”
Many of the children are not only adjusting to the trauma of being pulled out of their home but are acclimating to a new school, most often in the middle of the year. The CASA’s job is to serve as the single, neutral connection between everyone involved in this transitional time while the child is in the CPS system.
“As a CASA, you’re the only person who really gets to talk to everybody in the case — the biological family, foster parents, doctors and teachers, attorneys. You get all sides of the story,” Linda says. “You get to know the child, their CPS workers, and their therapist.” Of course, the CASA also spends one-on-one time with the child, checking in with them, in most cases, at least once a month to make sure they know they have their support.
“Somebody is there making sure they don't fall through the cracks educationally, medically, psychologically, or emotionally,” Kristi says. “You're spending your time trying to figure out how to put that family back together correctly — until you can't. And then when you can't, you start looking at other options and other resources.”
“Sometimes you have a case and those kids go back home, or they move on and they don't need you anymore. You let that go, and you know that they're in good hands,” Kristi says. “Then other times, you make those connections. Some people will stay in contact with those kiddos even into adulthood.”
“A lot of our volunteers have full-time jobs,” she says. “We do ask for a 12- to 18-month commitment,” says Kristi, who explains that generally the court will give parents a year to address the issues that caused the child to be removed from the home, with an occasional extension if they are making improvements but need more time.
Becoming a CASA
Volunteers are provided with training and resources to be able to help the child and family heal, according to Kristi. The journey to become a CASA begins with the desire to help address child abuse through child advocacy. Those who are interested are invited to attend an hour-long information session that outlines what a CASA does. If the attendee is still interested, they will interview with two VFC staff members who decide whether the prospective volunteer is a good fit for the program. In order to be approved, CASAs must be at least 21 years old and undergo approximately 31 hours of training through VFC, plus background checks and fingerprinting. Once the CASA has completed the requirements and has been sworn in by a judge, they are ready to take their first case. The newly appointed CASA is assigned a program supervisor who provides regular support and guidance.
Kristi says CASA volunteers tend to be detail-oriented and are good multitaskers. “Having organizational skills is essential,” Kristi says. “Everything that you do and every conversation that you have is monitored in the system that we use.” If for any reason a volunteer is no longer willing or able to continue with their case, the monitored log is provided to the case worker so that the information can still be provided to the judge, she says.
“At first I was hesitant to become a volunteer,” Linda says. “Once you become a CASA, you realize there are so many people there, to be there for you, and training to prepare you for the role.” Voices for Children has resources and training to guide volunteers through the whole volunteering experience, she says. “It is so rewarding to realize and recognize your part of a team to put this family back together,” Linda says.
For more information, visit vfcbrazos.org.
Become a CASA
To learn how to become a CASA volunteer, click here.
