On Monday, the Indiana Statehouse was filled with royal blue shirts proclaiming “I AM FOR THE CHILD!” Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Guardian ad Litem (GAL) volunteers, directors, staff and board members from around the state held a rally in the Statehouse rotunda.
Legislators from around the state were invited to attend and learn more about CASA and how important it is that kids who are going through the family court system have an advocate to speak for them and with them.
Marshall County CASA Director Haley Kittrell, CASA of Marshall County Board of Directors member Janice Berger and CASA of Marshall County Volunteer Pam Barry attended the rally.
Chief Justice Loretta Rush of the Indiana Supreme Court spoke about the importance of CASA volunteers in her experience.
State CASA Director Leslie Dunn encouraged current volunteers to talk to legislators and recruit more volunteers. Two former foster youth gave powerful testimonies and shared heartfelt poetry about their CASA volunteers.
Many legislators were present, including Indiana Governor Mike Pence, whose mother was a CASA volunteer.
The goal of every CASA volunteer is to get children in safe and permanent homes as quickly as possible. Recent studies have shown that children with a volunteer advocate stay in the family court system approximately half as long as children without advocates. The theme for this rally was “KIDS CAN’T WAIT!”, referencing the waiting list of 4,043 children in Indiana at the end of 2014 that were without an advocate in the court system.
The Indiana State Office of GAL/CASA is asking legislators to increase their budget by $2.1 million this year to help serve the children that are on this waiting list. The funding for CASA programs from the Indiana Supreme Court has remained constant since 2007, but the number of programs has increased by 22%.
CASA volunteers give children a voice and act as the “eyes and ears” for the Judge in Child in Need of Services (CHINS) cases in which a child has been determined to be abused or neglected. They are trained members from the community who are an unbiased third party to a CHINS case. They are trained in child development and many other areas so they can advocate for children effectively, even when children are too young to tell a volunteer what they want or need. Volunteers from across the state used their powerful voices in a different way on Monday: to convince legislators of the need to reduce the waiting list of children without advocates!
CASA of Marshall County currently has 42 active volunteers. There were over 100 CHINS cases filed in Marshall County last year.
Kittrell said they are always in need of volunteers. In order to become a volunteer, you must be at least 21 years of age, be able to pass a CPS/criminal background check as well as a social security verification, and you must be passionate about giving children a voice in court. CASA volunteers go through 33 hours of required pre-service training and 12 hours of additional in-service training per year. They meet with the child at least once per month, usually more often, and they speak with everyone involved in the child’s life in order to make fact-based verbal and written recommendations to the Judge in period review hearings about the child. CASA of Marshall County will have pre-service training this autumn. If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, please contact Haley athaleyk@co.marshall.in.us or visit our website: www.marshallcountycasa.org.
Photo: CASA of Marshall County Board of Directors member Janice Berger (left), Indiana Governor Mike Pence, CASA of Marshall County Director Haley Kittrell, CASA of Marshall County Volunteer Pam Barry, and Child Advocates (Marion County) Volunteer Luberta Jenkins.
