CASA looking for volunteers to advocate for children

Some people were told this week how they can volunteer to help children caught up in the legal system.

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Hill County - CASA - held an orientation Tuesday in the Disrict 4 Human Resources Development Council building to tell interested people how they can become CASA volunteers. 

"Every child needs a voice," CASA Executive Director Chamene Plum said. "Children enter the foster care system and then automatically are in the court system and the children don't have a voice."

The meeting was to review the application process and inform people what is expected of a CASA volunteer. CASA is a non-profit group which works within the court system advocating for the needs of children who have been removed from their parents, either because of abuse or neglect, and put into the court system through no fault of their own. The children are often either put into foster care or placed in the home of a family member. CASA volunteers are tasked with reviewing the child's case, investigating the case and meeting with the child to determine what would be in the best interest of the child.

CASA of Hill County serves the 12th Judicial District, under District Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz, and covers Hill, Chouteau and Liberty counties including Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. 

Plum said CASA of Hill County is working with about nine different judges other than Snipes Ruiz. The judges are presiding over cases in the district to prevent conflict of interest because of Snipes Ruiz's history working in the public defender's office, which means she previously defended some of the people facing charges in the district.

Plum said CASA volunteers are required to be 21 years of age, fill out the application, go through a series of background checks - such as a criminal and Montana Department of Health and Human Services background check - and be able to commit to at least one year as a volunteer. She added that applications will be accepted up to Sept. 3. 

Training for volunteers requires 30 hours of preservice training, which is an eight-week process, she said. Training will begin Tuesday, Sept. 17, and will be each Tuesday until training is concluded. 

The classes teach volunteers about the court system and childhood trauma and review some of the things a volunteer may encounter as well as how to deal with different issues, she said. Classes also teach volunteers how to write a report to a judge about the case.

"We are really the eyes and the ears of the judge," Plum said.

She added that CASA volunteers are expected to respect the child's inherent right to grow up with dignity in a safe environment which meets the child's best interest.

A volunteer's duties are to communicate with the child or children the case relates to at least once a month. She said it takes approximately five to 10 hours a month to volunteer. Volunteers are also expected to read and investigate all relevant case material, interview parties such as birth and foster parents, siblings, relatives, social workers, teachers, doctors, therapists and other parties necessary to understand the child fully.

"We try to get a full picture of the child's needs," Plum said.

Once a volunteer is assigned to a case, they are asked to stick with the child or children involved in the case until they are either reunited with their parents or have found a permanent home - which takes, on average, a year, she said.

Plum added that volunteers should have the best interest of the child in mind and understand the specific needs of the child or children they are involved with in the case. For example, foster homes, she said, sometimes are not the best placement for the child or children and it is up to CASA volunteers to relay the information to the court and make suggestions on what would better suit the child or children.

She added that CASA also works with some children from the Indian reservations, and have to follow the guidelines in the Indian Child Welfare Act in those cases. The act requires cases involving children who are Native Americans to be handled in an appropriate way, such as placing children in a tribal foster home or with family members who live on the reservations. 

Plum said she likes to see children reunited with their parents if at all possible, but sometimes finding a permanent home with adoption, a foster family or living with other family members is better for the children's needs. 

CASA was established in Hill County in 2001, and serves children from ages 0 to 18, she said. She added that CASA of Hill County has a five-member board and 13 volunteers. Her position is the only paid position for their organization. She added that she first got involved with CASA in 2014, starting off as a volunteer after a friend told her about the group.

Plum said most of their volunteers hear about CASA through word of mouth.

She would like to see at least 10 more volunteers get involved with CASA because of the high need in the area, Plum said. She said they have about 60 children who are in the judicial system every year, although the number fluctuates throughout the year, and CASA currently is only able to serve 33 of those children.

She said that CASA only becomes involved with a case if the child is removed from the parent, adding that child protective services work with approximately double the number of children CASA works with.

"It's a pretty big need in this community right now," she said.

When children go into foster care and go into the court proceedings, she said, she would like the children to have a CASA volunteer there with them immediately. 

"So we don't have kids waiting for CASAs, we have CASAs waiting for kids," she said.