A CASA's Story by Allissa
My name is Alissa and I am a CASA. The moment I moved to Casper I knew that I wanted to be a part of looking out for children in an intentional way. I have been a CASA for 2 years now and that is plenty long enough to realize that our “best interest of the child,” can go different, and sometimes conflicting, directions.
Whether a single baby or a group of children, there is truly, honestly very few people who specifically get to know children and are able to take that knowledge and advocate for them: Counselors, CASA’s and the child’s own family. Let me clarify- there are very few people who have gotten to know a child and had leverage to influence a team within a court room. GAL’s rarely get to know their children well, their case loads are simply too huge. Foster parents know the children better than anyone else, but they are frequently unheard or discredited within such a large team of “professionals.”
*as a caveat- We all know there are GAL’s, counselors, family, foster parents and CASA’s that do not know the child or have their best interest in mind- but they are a different topic to their own.
Who I, as a CASA, have come to value the most are the foster parents. Foster parents are the ones who stay up hours as a small child bangs their head against a wall screaming in the night, foster parents are the ones who console a child after their parents failed to show up to a visit, and foster parents are the ones that hear the comments, like little breezes, that show what is going on inside a child’s head and heart. These are very real situations that are so powerful to share in a court room.
The connection I can have with a foster parent is a gift, one that everyone, including myself, should inspect much more. Your schedules are unbelievable, your patience is phenomenal and your ability to problem solve in moments of surprise, is remarkable. So, when I see you being pegged as just “wanting the kid,” being reprimanded without the chance to tell your side of the story, or simply being disregarded and have your words fall on empty ears, I feel our system is a fail.
Thank you, just from me, for taking extra children in the middle of the night, for giving them a place to sleep, and for providing them a little window into what family really means.
My name is Alissa and I am a CASA. The moment I moved to Casper I knew that I wanted to be a part of looking out for children in an intentional way. I have been a CASA for 2 years now and that is plenty long enough to realize that our “best interest of the child,” can go different, and sometimes conflicting, directions.
Whether a single baby or a group of children, there is truly, honestly very few people who specifically get to know children and are able to take that knowledge and advocate for them: Counselors, CASA’s and the child’s own family. Let me clarify- there are very few people who have gotten to know a child and had leverage to influence a team within a court room. GAL’s rarely get to know their children well, their case loads are simply too huge. Foster parents know the children better than anyone else, but they are frequently unheard or discredited within such a large team of “professionals.”
*as a caveat- We all know there are GAL’s, counselors, family, foster parents and CASA’s that do not know the child or have their best interest in mind- but they are a different topic to their own.
Who I, as a CASA, have come to value the most are the foster parents. Foster parents are the ones who stay up hours as a small child bangs their head against a wall screaming in the night, foster parents are the ones who console a child after their parents failed to show up to a visit, and foster parents are the ones that hear the comments, like little breezes, that show what is going on inside a child’s head and heart. These are very real situations that are so powerful to share in a court room.
The connection I can have with a foster parent is a gift, one that everyone, including myself, should inspect much more. Your schedules are unbelievable, your patience is phenomenal and your ability to problem solve in moments of surprise, is remarkable. So, when I see you being pegged as just “wanting the kid,” being reprimanded without the chance to tell your side of the story, or simply being disregarded and have your words fall on empty ears, I feel our system is a fail.
Thank you, just from me, for taking extra children in the middle of the night, for giving them a place to sleep, and for providing them a little window into what family really means.