Anyone who has been involved in the court system can attest to how overwhelming it can be. Imagine, though, that while going through the courts, you could not speak, and if you did, no one would listen to you. Unfortunately, for anyone under the age of 18, that’s exactly what they must deal with while going through the court system.
Luckily, for local youngsters, there are the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County. Known as CASA, the organization is comprised of adults who get to know a minor currently involved in the court system and advocate for them based on their personal needs.
“A lot of them are in foster homes; they’ve been separated from their parents and their families, so they need a more stable environment,” CASA volunteer Dawn Gilchrist said. “A lot of them have been to several homes and they don’t have any feeling of stability.”
CASA volunteers provide that stability to their children in myriad ways, but the first thing they do is get familiar with the child’s situation.
“You’re on a one-to-one basis with your CASA child, so you read their court case,” Gilchrist said. “You actually read a bunch of cases and choose the [kid] you think you would want to meet.”
Once paired up, the volunteer and child get to know each other.
“You meet with them once a week and talk to them, help them with homework, or problems they might be having,” Gilchrist said. “I always describe it as sitting on their shoulder and looking around and watching out for them.”
CASA kids run the gamut of needs, from being a complete ward of the state, to having parents in rehabilitation programs. Either way, they need a voice in the courtroom, and that’s what their advocates are for.
“When we do go to court, it’s usually every six months to update everything. You turn in a court report, the judge reads it, and a lot of times it helps them make a decision,” Gilchrist said. “It’s an unbiased report; you put down the negative and the positive.”
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The advocate is sometimes the only person in the child’s life who is making sure he is on the right track toward a positive future. Advocates can talk to the child’s teachers, foster parents, or anyone else who is involved with his or her life.
“Some of their needs are more devastating than you can imagine,” Gilchrist said. “Some of these kids come from places that we never see.”
Casting a light on the children’s situations is paramount for them to get the most out of their situation with the courts. If they can leave the court system positively when they’re young, it’s more likely they won’t enter it again as an adult, Gilchrist explained.
“If I can take them and their lives and put it in a positive direction—take them out of the turmoil they are in and give them self-confidence and a right way to look at the world—then maybe they can help the other kids around them that are going through something similar,” Gilchrist said. “That is my goal, to help them cope in the easiest way that they can.”
Gilchrist enjoys many activities with her CASA child, including going to the movies and going out to eat, but none of that happens, she explained, until her CASA kid’s homework is done. She has even chaperoned at a DARE dance, which was her CASA kid’s very first.
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“I was really surprised at how naturally it came to me—how actually easy it was if you just put your mind to it and see where these children come from,” she said. “And it’s fun! She introduced me to Salvadorian food and I introduced her to sushi.”
There are also other ways CASA volunteers can help the program, Gilchrist explained, like fundraisers.
“I think that the Santa Barbara County CASA has the most phenomenal CASA program ever,” she said. “They cover everything and care about the advocates and the kids. They do so much for these kids, and we do need more volunteers.”
Those interested in joining CASA can take advantage of the upcoming training sessions in Santa Maria on Jan. 14 and in Lompoc on Jan. 16.
Arts Editor Joe Payne advocates for advocates. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 9-16, 2014.