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Monday, July 17, 2006
Ind. Courts - Court Appointed Special Advocates program featured
Jerry Davich of the Munster (NW Indiana) Times has a story today on the CASA program. Some quotes:
PORTAGE I They are privy to the hushed secrets of abused, neglected and at-risk children.They have access to confidential records, documents and court hearings. They even have the power to recommend children be taken away from their parents for good.
Yet most don't get paid a dime, not even for mileage to distant communities, and they typically work behind the scenes in the child welfare field.
They're called CASAs, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, and most are volunteers appointed by juvenile court judges to speak up for child victims.
"We're the eyes and ears of juvenile court judges," said Luci Hand, volunteer coordinator of the Porter County CASA program.
The program, funded through a mix of local, state and federal money, operates through the Family And Youth Service Bureau in Portage.
Here, about 65 CASAs handled more than 400 children's cases last year, from infants to 18 years old, often taking them for walks or haircuts or lunch to discuss touchy family issues or tucked-away feelings. * * *
Of Indiana's 92 counties, 65 have volunteer programs like Porter and Lake, and 44 are nationally certified, including Porter and Lake. Counties without volunteer programs appoint paid attorneys or guardians ad litem to represent children, though often on a limited basis, CASA data show.
Porter County's program provides a CASA for each CHINs case -- or Children in Need of Services. Most counties do not, leaving at least 4,000 Hoosier children on waiting lists last year, Hand said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 17, 2006 07:50 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts