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imaginethat1017 t1_jcz9kqg wrote

Reply to comment by bartlebysreply in LPT - You do not have to commit to being a foster parent to help kids in the system by mutilatedlama

I was a casa for a year, before moving to a another country. It’s a bit more than just helping at court. You’re making sure the kid isn’t falling through the cracks when everyone else in the system is overwhelmed and overworked. There were services my casa child received only because casa was there to follow up. Everyone else forgot. Let me know if you have any questions.

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GenXChefVeg t1_jczjgrn wrote

Same here. I made sure my clients got school / hobby materials (paid for by me, then reimbursed by CASA). I also had to complete court reports about their school progress, wellbeing, and share their opinions about placement, etc. with the judge.

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mutilatedlama OP t1_jczfiju wrote

Thank you! I didn't know this part!

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kylejwand09 t1_jd04nu2 wrote

I was a social worker and my perspective regarding CASA is that they are a person who helps bring the child’s voice to the team and the court. Each team member sort of advocates for things in a different way, and sometimes the child’s wishes are not specifically addressed. CASA helps that happen.

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KickBallFever t1_jczp714 wrote

What was the time commitment like when you worked with casa? I’m interested, and have experience working with kids, but I work full time.

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imaginethat1017 t1_jd02ydp wrote

It varies a lot over the course of the case. When the child first enters the system you’ll need to be on top of making sure doctors and teachers and case workers and foster parents are all working together. You would write a report for the judge and attend court. The first month might be 12 hours of work. Then there will likely be months where all you need to do is meet with the child and foster parent, then an email check in with CPS and the child’s lawyer. That would only be 3 hours. There were more 3 hour months than 12 hour. I served during covid times, so all court proceedings were online. That made it super easy… physically going in to court would run into daytime work hours. But I bet many reasonable employers would see the value of allowing that time.

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KickBallFever t1_jd0kosc wrote

Thanks for the additional info. I checked out their website for my area and it doesn’t look like something I can commit to at the moment. It requires at least a one year commitment, and I work full time and am also going back to school in the fall. I’ll look into it again once I have more time to give. I’m interested in fostering in the future and this would be a great way for me to help out while learning about the process.

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