MANSFIELD – Judge Ron Spon seeks additional Court Appointed Special Advocates to gather information and make informed recommendations to the Court on behalf of children in need.
The CASA program is a nationally-recognized court service for serving the best interests of neglected and abused children. Judge Spon initiated a CASA program in Richland County Juvenile Court in 1998 because it provides the Court with additional resources with which to enhance the quality of care for those most vulnerable in our community.
CASA volunteers come from all walks of life, with a variety of professional, educational, and ethnic backgrounds. While there are not special educational requirements, volunteers must be at least 21 years of age, complete an application and an interview, and engage in training to ensure preparation for their role.
“After spending 30 years with an organization, I am starting to look to retirement,” CASA volunteer Herb Homan said. “My thoughts go to what am I going to do in those retirement years. I wanted to do something of value and something with purpose. The CASA program seemed like it fit that bill.”
As Homan enters his second year as a CASA, he also desires to give back to the community where he raised his children.
“If there is something I can do, albeit, in a small way I want to do that,” Homan said.
For Pam Van Horn, becoming a CASA flowed out of her own childhood experience. She has advocated for six children from five families during the past seven years.
“My parents were from the depression era,” CASA Van Horn said. “They had a strong work ethic and they taught me all that, but I did not have a voice as a child. I wanted to make a difference that way.”
GAL/CASA Program Director Brooke Henwood seeks volunteers who enjoy working with children, have some flexibility in their schedules, and can dedicate themselves to a principled investigation into the circumstances of any child to whom he or she is appointed to advocate.
Most activities take place in Richland County, but occasionally children are placed outside of the county requiring travel. CASA volunteers must attend required court dates, but they can work with families to schedule other meetings at their convenience.
CASA volunteers receive more than 30 hours of comprehensive training over the course of 3 to 4 weeks. Advocates learn how to serve as a guardian ad litem or GAL. According to the Ohio Supreme Court, a guardian ad litem is an “individual appointed to assist a court in its determination of a child’s best interest.”
“It covers all aspects of the position so that you understand the expectations, your boundaries and what the basis of the role is,” Homan said of the training. “Probably the point I would emphasize more than anything else is the support that we receive on an ongoing basis.
“We’re assigned a staff member who will help us with reports and help us with questions that we have.”
CASA volunteers become informed about the facts of cases referred by Richland County Children Services through meetings with the child; parents, guardians and other involved adults; and caseworkers; as well as through investigations of files and records. Advocates make verbal and written reports to Judge Spon and his magistrates stating their recommendations as to what is in the child’s best interest and upon what information those recommendations are based.
While Children Services is mandated to make reasonable efforts to keep families together, which is often ideal, CASA narrows in on the best interests of individual children. As a specially-trained volunteer, each Court Appointed Special Advocate has the unique opportunity to advocate for a child’s best interests in court proceedings.
Judge Spon finds that a CASA volunteer provides a valuable and important service to strengthening the care of children who are in need in our own backyard.
“We give more insight and context to the judge and magistrate to be able to make more informed decisions,” Homan said. “We make sure we are keeping the focus on the child, and that his or her needs are being met.”
Five-year CASA volunteer Michelle Sorrenti appreciates being able to focus on the best interests of the children.
“I am letting them know that they are a priority and helping them navigate through difficult circumstances,” Sorrenti said. “That’s rewarding.”
With cases lasting an average of one to two years, CASA volunteers strive to build strong rapport and trust with children.
“There are times when you don’t ever get to feel like they completely trust you, but I know that I still have to go ahead and do the right thing that is right for them,” Sorrenti said.
CASA volunteers spend an average of 10 hours per month advocating for the children on each case. When cases are first assigned, CASA volunteers may spend additional time meeting with individuals and researching documents. Some volunteers find advocating for children one case at a time works with their schedule, while others choose to serve on multiple cases.
“There is some heavy lifting at the beginning when you are first assigned a case,” Homan said. “It will tend to go into a maintenance phase in which unless there is some new information or you are concerned about something that you look into a little more, it levels out.”
So far in 2017, Children Services filed 231 complaints of abuse or neglect in Richland County. This is an increase from last year, and many of the cases reference drug use. With 55 dedicated CASA volunteers covering 80 cases, a significant need exists for additional volunteers.
“I think it’s very easy to dismiss statistics, and it’s very easy to read stories and believe that that happens to people in other places,” Homan said. “So when you become involved in these cases, these are people in your community. These are otherwise good people that may have made bad decisions and may find themselves with some challenges.”
Consider becoming a volunteer advocate for a neglected child in Juvenile Court. Free training starts Oct. 5. Contact Brooke Henwood to begin the application process: cspon@rcjcoh.us or 419-774-5802.
