MORGANTOWN – West Virginia had 6,796 children in foster care in November. According to various sources, the state had 5,235 child abuse and neglect cases in 2020, 5,975 in 2019 and 5,659 in 2018.
Court Appointed Special Advocates – CASAs – are there to go to bat for those kids. We talked with CASA for Kids of Monongalia and Preston Counties about their work.
CASAs “advocate for kids in the foster care system who have experienced abuse and neglect, with the goal of achieving safe, permanent housing as quickly as possible,” said Executive Director Crissi Christy.
Their website adds that CASAs “watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes.”
While some might assume that taking the kids permanently away for abusive or negligent parents is always the best answer, Volunteer Supervisor Kara Bailes said, “Research has shown that if you can safely reunify the family, you give the parents the skill sets they need, that’s the best outcome for our kids.”
“The start of the case,” she said, “is really to reunify the family in a healthy way.” CASAs track that and offer suggestions to aid the process, or alternatives if the process isn’t working.
Christy said CASAs are with the kids from start to finish, whether that be anything from reunification to adoption. In a system where a child may be overseen by several caseworkers or be shuttled from one foster home to another, “The goal of the CASA is to really be that one constant.”
That means regular contact with the child, whether that be in-person, by telephone or FaceTime, she said.
Volunteers get trained, sworn in by a judge, get assigned a family, get to know the people involved in their lives – parents, foster parents, teachers – to better understand the child and their needs, write court reports for the judge, and if necessary make recommendations for what the parents should do.
Ten to 12 years ago, Christy said, substance abuse was relatively rare in these cases. “Now we’re very, very surprised if there is not a substance abuse component to our cases.
Bailes, who’s been with Mon and Preston CASA for 3 ½ years – the longest tenure of the current four staff members – said most substance abuse cases involved opioids when she started. Now there’s more meth and fentanyl. And there aren’t medically assisted treatments for meth, so that poses more challenges for recovery parents.
“These parents are typically great parents – when they’re not using,” Bailes said. “It’s really about helping the parents find sobriety, maintain that sobriety, so that they can be the parents that they are to the children, and who the children deserve.”
CASAs aren’t therapists but they can offer guidance and suggestions and support, she said. “You can’t really focus on the kids without taking a look at what’s going on with the parents as well.”
Mon and Preston CASA has 40 volunteers, with 33 currently on cases and a few on leave of absence.
Bekah Dunaway, outreach and engagement specialist, said CASAs are handling about 30% of open cases in Mon County, about 18% to 20% in Preston. Their goal, all three said, is to have a CASA for every kid in the system, but that requires more volunteers.
They recruit CASAs through word of mouth, presentations and social media. A contest run by The Stick Company – a local marketing and design company – called Designing to Make a Difference – has been a big boon they said. They’re one of three contest finalists – the winner gets a free custom-designed website and marketing campaign – and the contest has called a lot of attention to their work.
A volunteer applies, gets an interview and background check and then undergoes extensive training, which is self-paced and online. Dunaway runs the training, checks in with the volunteers and evaluates their progress. When training is complete, Bailes or Preston Volunteer Supervisor Leah Turner then look for a specific case that would be a good match for the CASA.
Because they’re volunteers with a single case, Bailes said, “They have the flexibility and the time to really focus on what’s happening on the case.” Unlike the others on the team – lawyers, caseworkers and so on – for whom the child is just one aspect of their work.
CASAs must be 21 or older, they said, and their current group ranges from WVU students to retirees and former foster parents. The average age right now, Dunaway said, is 33.
Those who would like to help, she said, but don’t want to be a CASA, can be a Friend of CASA. A Friend of CASA must be at least 18 and can be involved in a number of ways, including writing grants, doing administrative work, helping with events or even wrapping gifts.
Monetary donors are also appreciated, the said. The annual budget is about $270,000. About 70% of that comes from the Victims of Crime Act fund. The United Way also provides significant support.
To learn more about CASA for Kids of Monongalia and Preston Counties, go to casaforkidsmpc.org/ or https://iserve.wvu.edu/agency/detail/?agency_id=50497.
To vote for CASA in the Designing for a Difference contest, go to https://thestickco.com/difference/.
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
