CHILDREN HAVE A FRIEND IN CASA

Last year 159 children were taken from their homes because of abuse or neglect, but just 23 of them found refuge under the wings of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers.
“I’d take 50 more volunteers, even 100 more,” said Aimee Daniels, director of CASA for the 31st Judicial District of Allen, Woodson, Wilson and Neosho counties.
Need for volunteers has been constant since CASA took flight in the four-county judicial district in 2005.
“We’ve handled 112 cases,” Daniels said of the seven-plus years of CASA activity, with 45 percent, or 51, of the cases involving Allen County children. Other cases originated in Neosho, 36, Wilson, 31, and Woodson, 16.
“Volunteers involve themselves in all phases a child’s life,” Daniels noted. “They meet with children at least once a month for an hour — usually more often than that. They talk to teachers, parents, siblings, relatives, attorneys, foster parents, anyone who has information about the child.
“They also talk to the children themselves,” including conversations about what the child would like to have happen with their lives, Daniels said.
CASA volunteers are privy to virtually any information available about a child in need of care, from court to medical to school records, even reports compiled by the Department of Families and Children and law enforcement agencies.
Information comes their way through blanket waivers from a judge in the county where the child lives, usually a magistrate such as Tom Saxton in Allen County.
From the proliferation of information, volunteers produce a written report about they think should occur with the child. Copies of the report go to the county attorney, guardian ad litem, parents, anyone who has a stake in the child’s future.
In essence, CASA volunteers make recommendations that “will lead the judge to make a good decision,” one that gives the child a solid foundation going forward.
Most children are in the program about two years, but sometimes longer, depending on the child’s circumstances, Daniels said.
Of the 112 cases CASA volunteers have involved themselves, 89 have been closed.
Of those, 32 have resulted in reintegration in the family with one or two parents; 35 have led to adoptions, including 16 by family members; 14 have been placed in permanent custodianships with a legal guardian; seven had “aged-out,” meaning they have reached age 18 and are considered an adult; one, over 18, was placed in an adult conservatorship because of special needs.
Meanwhile, all other children removed from homes, most in care of relatives or foster care, are eligible for CASA participation, but for one reason or another have been left aside, mainly because of a lack of CASA volunteers.
“We have 17 on our ‘official’ waiting list,” Daniels said, but many more would be eligible for the programs if she could find the volunteers.

CASA is a nationwide program that started in Seattle in 1973 and since has spread to all 50 states, arriving in metropolitan areas of Kansas by the late 1980s.
Before CASA came this way a citizens review board read briefs about abused childrens’ situations and made recommendations.
Daniels said the review board “worked OK, but not perfect and it was hard to keep volunteers.”
By the late 1990s, District Judge C. Fred Lorenz, in Wilson County, pushed for formation of CASA in the 31st district, a process that played out with the local unit establishing itself with four volunteers in 2005.
Allen County had two of the four, Janice Parker, who continues in the program, and Louise Lind, who moved to Wichita a few year ago.
Daniels became director in October 2007, when Jane Brophy stepped aside to take the reins of the Chanute Chamber of Commerce. Daniels divides her time between Allen County and a home office in Chanute, where she deals with Neosho and Wilson counties.
CASA has 15 local volunteers including Parker, Cathy Lynch, Kathy Gilbert, Karen Lee, Mickey Hicks and Phyllis Loomis in Allen County, while Mardelle Pringle is the lone volunteer in Woodson County.
Volunteers receive extensive training to deal with children, who may come from a broad range of ages.
“We’ve had a two-day-old baby in the program and children who are over 18 but still involved,” said Daniels.
Most children served are 4 to 11.
CASA last year had a budget of $54,710, with about half its revenue, either in cash or in-kind contributions, coming from the four counties it serves.
“Allen County provides this office,” said Daniels from her desk in the basement of Allen County Courthouse. She calculates the contribution at $6,000 for rent and $450 a year for utilities. Neosho this year contributed $12,100, Woodson $2,700 and Wilson $7,300.
Other revenue comes from donations and fundraisers, the most prominent being a golf tournament that is scheduled for June 15 this year at Allen County Country Club. Daniels lauded board member Ken McGuffin, Iola, for being largely responsible for the golf tournament.
Pump-N-Pete’s also will have a fundraiser during June, in which patrons will be asked to make donations in exchange for having a name card posted in one of its convenience stores, where child abuse prevention information also will be available.
Several other corporate donors have helped out, including Southern Star Pipeline, Superior Products, Community National Banks, Twin Motors Ford, Bank of Commerce, Ashley Clinic, Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center, Hofer Construction, Humboldt, and Shell Oil.
But, the greatest contributions come from the volunteers themselves.
Daniels pointed out that in 2012 the advocates traveled 30,000 miles while paying the cost of fuel and vehicle expenses, spent 1,645 hours — an average of more than 100 each — with children and altogether trained for 300 hours.