CASA volunteer Amy Spencer was initially reluctant to be featured as an Advocate of the Month. When asked why she was hesitant, her response was, “I feel like it’s the kids who are the real heroes of these stories. They’re the ones stuck in the middle of this confusing quagmire of social workers, probation officers, and changing placements. We get to help them, but they’re the ones doing all the work.”
Amy found her way to CASA towards the end of the pandemic, when she began looking for a volunteer opportunity where she could make a difference. She had been doing a variety of volunteer work but felt the need to contribute her time to something with greater impact. Amy shares her experience with CASA, “I’ve been involved with lots of nonprofits but CASA is professional beyond professional. The training has been just incredible and very helpful. I try to take advantage of every training, especially having had no experience with kids in the system and growing up in a very different world.”
She gives credit to Waitlist Manager, Lindsey Covino for doing such a great job matching newly trained CASAs with their first youth. “I had the best experience. My first youth was just a delight, he was so wise, polite and grateful. One time we were driving to get something to eat and I asked him about his living situation. There were two foster kids and 3-4 biological children all living in a very small place. He responded, ‘Well it took some getting used to, but it sure beats living in the car.’ And I thought, wow, what a wise soul and what a great perspective,” said Amy.
According to Amy, “He and his family were eventually reunifed. I haven’t been his CASA for over a year but a few months after our case ended, he invited me to celebrate his birthday with him and his extended family. I just wanted to cry. I felt so honored to be included in his 15th birthday celebration.”
After working with a second youth for a short time, he too was reunified with his parents. Because Amy had additional free time and an interest in the criminal justice system, she agreed to take on a more complex case by supporting a “dual status” child in the collaborative court system. Dual status refers to a child who is both in the dependency (foster) system and is also in the juvenile justice system.
Amy was matched with a teenage youth, *Dwayne, who was in juvenile hall. He seemed to need more interaction so Amy wanted to see him every week while he was there and her supervisor agreed that it would be helpful. Since being released, he's been living with his mother and two of his siblings. Some youth, like Dwayne, who are in the care of the dependency court, are able to remain in the home with a parent under a family maintenance plan. Dwayne’s mother saw the support her son was receiving from Amy as his CASA and asked if she’d be willing to also serve as an advocate for her daughter as well.
CASA has traditionally limited matches to one youth and one advocate to allow for exclusive one-on-one time with the youth. However, there is a growing need and embrace of sibling matches as it is a way to serve more of the hundreds of youth on CASA’s waitlist. Amy shares, “From the parent’s perspective, with more than one child in the dependency system, there may be different social workers and Wraparound services teams for each child. Social workers can change so frequently that it’s beneficial to have a single CASA supporting the children until the case closes. With this family, the mom knows me and has formed a trusting relationship with me. If a CASA shows up consistently, it’s good for the guardian and the youth.”
Working with the two siblings has also been beneficial in breaking down barriers in getting to know Dwayne’s sister who is very shy and withdrawn. Amy shares, “The couple of times we went out alone, she was very shy and when we ended up going out along with Dwayne, that really seemed to help. At first I thought we’d keep the visits separate to establish privacy, confidentiality and one-on-one time but as it turned out, having the three of us together was kind of a breakthrough and was very helpful.”
According to Amy, her supervisor, Jennifer Zavala, is incredible. “We joke about how complex my cases have become but CASA made sure over and over again, before I took the case, that I was up for this challenge. That’s what’s so amazing about this organization, they really keep a pulse on us, have a good understanding of what we can handle, and are very careful about not just throwing us into a difficult situation.”
Jennifer said, “I wanted to highlight how amazing Amy is. She is now working with a brother and a sister and is a huge asset to the overall team. Amy has already made such a positive impact on the brother and is currently working on building rapport with his sister. These youth have very minimal support and Amy has taken on a very big role in their life. Amy is always looking for ways to advocate for her youth and is a tremendous team player!” She adds, “As if she doesn't do enough already, Amy also helps the waitlist team with completing intakes for all the referrals we get to CASA. She is truly a blessing and I am beyond thankful to be working with her!”
Amy began helping the waitlist team after responding to an email asking for volunteers to help with intake assessments. She synthesizes and summarizes the court reports from social workers referring cases to the CASA waitlist. She assesses the severity of the case needs and ranks them in order of priority. She calls it a perfect assignment since she can do it on her own time and maintain flexibility in her schedule.
When asked how she feels about working with a youth who has been arrested, she said, “That’s part of the reason I take so many CASA trainings, to try to develop more insight. These behaviors are not related to kids wanting to be disruptive. I believe that kids act out and get into trouble because they’re hurt or they’re neglected or ignored and they don’t have the tools to figure out a better way to deal with things.”
Amy shared, “We are all equipped to do this as long as we care and are willing to keep an open mind and suspend judgment. Anybody can do this. It breaks my heart there’s a waitlist. Every one of these kids needs somebody, they’re in the system for a real reason and they all could use our help.”
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a CASA, please email Norma Mendoza or sign up to attend an upcoming Information Session.
*Name changed to preserve privacy.