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Speaking for displaced children
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - May 13, 2008)
Every year in
New Jersey, over 12,000 abused and neglected children are removed from their homes and placed into foster care. Given the number of children in this situation, and the relatively few professionals equipped to handle their cases, it is easy for them to get lost in the shuffle, moving from group home to foster home to state facility, sometimes never finding a permanent home. Realistically, a lawyer and a caseworker from the Department of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) representing a displaced child in court may also be responsible for dozens of other cases.
Thirty years ago, a judge from Seattle, Wash. named David W. Soukup realized that he and other judges charged with deciding the fate of displaced children would be better able to do their jobs if there were one person assigned to each child, providing knowledgeable and reliable recommendations based on the child’s history and needs. Soukup founded a national nonprofit volunteer organization, Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (CASA) to help train ordinary people to serve as advocates for these children. With assistance and training provided by CASA, volunteers delve as deeply as possible into the details surrounding a child’s removal from a home, and make recommendations to the court for the future care of the child.
Bergen County CASA, in its fifth year of operation, recently welcomed nine new volunteers into the fold. One of these volunteers is River Vale resident Joseph F. Bray. He joins the existing 107 Bergen County volunteers in the program, one of whom is his wife, Karen Melin, who are already actively serving as a voice for the over 400 Bergen County children currently in the system in the county. Bray is a retired high school and college English teacher and is also currently a volunteer EMT in River Vale. He explains what motivates him to volunteer: “I retired and I really need to keep myself active and fit, and I really enjoy both these activities,” he says. As for what drew him to CASA he says, “I have seen in my own experience what can happen to children whose families collapse and whom no one looks out for. The situation can really tug at you.”
According to Inge Spungen, who serves as the Director of recruiting and training for the Bergen County CASA, “It’s not a light commitment to become a CASA volunteer… but it’s very rewarding.” The process of becoming a special advocate begins with 30 hours of training and a thorough background check. Once a volunteer is certified, he or she is assigned to a case.
“The first order of business,” says Spungen, “is to learn the background of the case.” This involves reviewing the child’s case history and interviewing members of the family, doctors, social workers, and school officials in order to develop a comprehensive picture of the child’s situation. “We have two case supervisors on staff who work with volunteers,” Spungen points out, “so you are never alone… [you are] working with a professional in that field.” The supervisors assist the volunteers in formulating a case goal, deciding whom to interview, and preparing a report to submit to the court. Bray adds, “It’s like being a detective.”
The CASA volunteer recommends if it is in the child’s best interest to remain in foster care, be returned to his or her parent or guardian, or be freed for adoption, then follows through on the case until it is permanently resolved. A volunteer usually spends about 10 hours per month doing research and conducting interviews in the beginning of a case. After the initial period, volunteers can spend anywhere from 3 to 20 hours a month depending on the circumstances of their cases.
Spungen herself has served as a CASA volunteer. She puts into perspective how important it is for a child who has been removed from a home to have an advocate. She says that in a case of reported neglect or abuse, DYFS’s first priority is to keep the family together, and that removing a child from his or her family is usually a last resort. “We get the children who probably have the most difficult situations,” she says.
The purpose of the CASA program is to make sure that children who have been abused, sometimes to the point of mental illness, are given the resources they need to rise above their circumstances and mature into functioning adults. CASA volunteers often recommend to the court where a child should be placed, and whether the child requires additional counseling or tutoring. “It’s well done, practical and thorough,” says Spungen, “and the court often takes our recommendation.”
There are so many stories of how CASA has worked to improve the lives of children in the foster care system. Spungen recalls an instance in which a CASA volunteer discovered through research that a child had been named in the will of a deceased grandparent and stood to receive a sizable inheritance. Had the CASA not been assigned to the case, she said, there is a distinct chance that those financial resources would never have been found. In countless cases, children have living relatives who are not even aware that the child needs a home. It takes time, energy and attention to seek out these relatives, but they often make the most suitable foster families, providing the child with not only a place to live, but also a sense of belonging and security.
It takes a person with a lot of heart and a strong commitment to children to be a CASA volunteer. “The people that come in to volunteer are really incredible,” says Spungen. “A lot of our volunteers are people who have retired from positions in the school system. Oftentimes [they are] people who have a strong attachment to children and understand children.” But she points out that CASA volunteers also include people in their 20s “who know this is their life’s calling to help children in need,” as well as people with full time jobs who just want to give back to their community in a meaningful way. “We do have some very committed people and people with full time jobs, but they must have a certain amount of flexibility.”
Spungen points out that even though Bergen County CASA has over 100 dedicated volunteers, the number of cases still exceeds available advocates by a factor of four to one. “We are looking for dedicated people. There are lots of them around,” she says, “This could be a great thing for people who want to help children who have been dealt such a hard time.”
Bray and Melin have heeded the call. “There are a lot of children out there who are not as fortunate as you or I might be, and we really can’t abandon them,” he says. “For some of them it’s a matter of survival.”
For those who may be interested in volunteering with CASA, there will be an information session at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, at the CASA office, located at 45 Essex Street in
Hackensack. RSVP to Bergen County CASA at 201-843-6700 or visit www.bergencasa.org.
Karen F. Mrnarevic's e-mail address is Mrnarevic@northjersey.com.
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