CASA, a child's voice

Hundreds of children in the United States face abuse at home or the loss of a parent, then face a system in which few people listen to their needs and fears. Children are considered the future, but the future of neglected children often rests in the hands of a system that is overburdened with too many cases and not enough people to take care of them.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) gives a voice to those who do not have the means to speak about their lives and the abuse that they have endured.

Since the first trained advocates in Cheyenne County were appointed in December, the local CASA has supported at least three children in court cases. Soon they will have six trained volunteers sworn in by the county court.

CASA is a volunteer driven organization that is appointed by judges to over see and give a voice to abused and neglected children. The volunteers are trained to help these children and keep them from being lost in a system that is overburdened or that are placed in a foster or group home that is inappropriate. Volunteers are appointed to only one case that may consist of a single child or family. These volunteers stay with each case until the child or children are placed in a safe permanent home.

Volunteers Rebecca Napier and Sybil Prosser were both CASA volunteers before moving to Sidney. Napier became a volunteer after hearing an ad on the radio in Scottsbluff.

“My first case were two children who were siblings,” she said. “They had been in the foster care system for seven years; they assigned the case to me as a CASA volunteer because that is way to long to be in a temporary living environment.”

Her role included discerning the best interest of these children in the case, reporting to the judges and attorneys, as well as communicating with other organizations.

“When I took this case the children already had five social service case workers,” Napier explained. “They kind of got lost in the system.”

After seven years, at age 9 and 10 the judge gave the adopting parent the choice of adopting one, both or none, they were both adopted by the same parents.

Prosser became a CASA volunteer in Omaha. As a volunteer Prosser said, “It’s a lot of ups and downs, your doing something that is really very important in that way it is very rewarding, but it is emotionally exhausting. I have enjoyed volunteering for CASA. It’s important to think about these children who have no voice if you don’t do this. It’s very easy for children to get lost in the system; it’s a broken system. In CASA you have just one case, where you can get to know the children and built a relationship.”

Both Napier and Prosser are now on the board of directors for Cheyenne County CASA.

The first idea of citizen volunteers speaking for abused children in the legal system was conceived in 1977 in Seattle by a juvenile court judge, now more than 946 CASA organizations have been started in 49 states.

To become a CASA volunteer you must be 21, pass a background check, complete around 30 hours of training, and be willing to possibly testify in your case.