Making a Difference : One Organization’s Approach: Advocate for Court Dependent Children

The number of abused, abandoned or neglected children under court jurisdiction in Los Angeles County has grown from 16,000 to 42,000 over the past 15 years. Each month, about 1,000 children who have committed no crime are added to the county’s Dependency Court system where they rely on services from overburdened social workers, lawyers and other court professionals. Modeled after similar programs nationwide, the Los Angeles Child Advocates Office was established in 1978 to recruit, screen, train and supervise community volunteers to assist the court on behalf of these children. Volunteers become Court Appointed Special Advocates charged with helping children while Dependency Court officials work to find them safe, stable and permanent homes--a process that can take as long as two years and a half a dozen court appearances. Today, volunteers at more than 400 CASA programs in 47 states accompany children to court, prepare reports used to determine where they should live and give children the type of consistent one-on-one contact and support that court officials seldom can.

THE NEED FOR VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES Los Angeles County Child advocate volunteers: 227 Child court dependents: 43,000 Orange County Child advocate volunteers: 230 Child court dependents: 3,900 San Bernadino County Child advocate volunteers: 62 Child court dependents: 4,000 San Diego County Child advocate volunteers: 111 Child court dependents: 6,300 Ventura County Child advocate volunteers: 75 Child court dependents: 1,000 Source: CASA offices of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernadino, San Diego and Ventura counties

ONE VOLUNTEER ADVOCATE’S EXPERIENCE

Carolina Oaxaca

Lives in Rancho Palos Verdes. A CASA volunteer since 1982, she was selected by the National CASA Assn. as 1992 Child Advocate of the Year.

I learned about CASA through a friend of mine. She said, ‘I’m working for this great organization, and we really need bilingual volunteers.’ I thought, ‘Why not?’ She sent me an application form, I went into training and here I am 12 years later.

We learn how to make independent investigations for the judge who eventually makes the final decision about what is to happen to these children. You have to sift through a lot of information about a child’s life and make sense out of it. As a volunteer, I can make a recommendation to the court with back-up data to support my position--dates, conversations, observations. Evaluations are done to find out where a child should be placed--with the parents, with mother or dad or grandma or someone else. My job is to see the whole picture, to plan ahead for the child while listening to the child. We are an independent voice to the court on behalf of the child. We may not always agree with Department of Children’s Services or with the therapist.

I have a letter from the court allowing me to review school records, doctors’ records, psychiatric records, medical and hospital records and police reports so that I can make an assessment about the child’s treatment, incorporate it into my report and help in other ways.

I have a case now where the child has a speech impediment and is a slow learner. I insisted that the child receive testing for learning disability. I asked the people who evaluated him if his problems could be a combination of teeth missing and a hearing problem. We learned that he has a hearing problem and that he’ll need surgery.

Most of the children come from lower-income families, many of them are minority children, many have learning disabilities. They are sometimes coke babies or HIV positive babies. Some have physical disabilities. These children have been abused, and they lose trust--especially in adults. I never touch a child initially. I sit down and I let them come to me. Then if they want to sit close to me, fine. Eventually, when they see that you are not a threat, they will open up. Some open up right away; with some it takes years to reach them.

A CASA volunteer brings understanding and closeness to the child that the child may not receive at home or in foster care. The child may want to talk to a social worker or an attorney, but they may not be there or have time. Maybe the child is in a group home and there’s no one who listens to him or her. Maybe a telephone call or visit from a CASA volunteer can make a difference. A CASA volunteer offers support to a child by going with the child to court. It can make quite a difference to a child to know that he or she is not alone.

Depending on the case I may devote about about four or five hours a week per case. I make telephone calls, make home, hospital and school visits. I may meet with the children, counselors, teachers, principals. Especially with teen-agers, I check that they are going to classes, that they are not into gangs and if they are, then we have resources to help with that.

As the years have gone by we are more and more recognized in court. People know who we are and what we can do. And they’re supportive. In fact on court orders I see now CASA volunteers are requested--some even by name.

TO GET INVOLVED

There is an urgent need for male, bilingual, Latino and African American child advocates throughout Southern California. For volunteer, donation or other support opportunities with child advocate programs call: CASA/Los Angeles (213) 526-6666, CASA of Orange County (714) 935-6460, CASA Program of Ventura County (805) 644-1555, San Bernadino Child Advocacy Program (909) 387-7567, Voices for Children (San Diego County) (619) 569-2019.