Inside CASA: What Difference Does Diversity Make?

Valerie Burchfield Rhodes

Inside CASA is a series about the child welfare system and the role CASA OC  plays in providing trained volunteers to advocate on behalf of youth within the system.

Norma Mendoza was only thirteen years old when she and her family immigrated to the United States from Mexico. As a young teen, Norma tried to fit in as best she could by, “flying under the radar” and blending in as much as possible. It wasn’t until a few years later, as a college student at Chapman, that she took her first sociology class and began to find the language to describe her complex emotional experience as a young immigrant.

Norma is now the Volunteer Recruitment and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) Manager for Court Appointed Special Advocates of Orange County (CASA OC) where she is responsible for recruiting community volunteers to become advocates for youth in the Orange County foster care system. Norma says of her college years, “I was a business major and it wasn’t until I started taking sociology classes that I found the words to describe the feelings I had. I really enjoyed what I was learning and it was the first time I began to understand the importance of feeling a sense of cultural belonging.”

Norma Mendoza (Volunteer Recruitment and DEIB Manager) with Erika Pedersen (Chief Development Officer) and Matthew Wadlinger (Chief Strategy Officer) at the Back to School Picnic for CASA OC youth.

She realized her life experience as an immigrant was different from those who were born in the United States, but it was also different from others in the Hispanic/Latinx population who came from different countries and cultural backgrounds. It is this understanding of diverse experiences and the universal importance of belonging that help inform her role overseeing CASA’s recruitment and diversity efforts. 

Since CASA OC’s inception in 1985, more than 4,000 volunteers have been recruited and trained to advocate on behalf of almost 10,000 Orange County youth in foster care. CASA’s lean staff leverages an army of approximately 650 active volunteers. Yet there are currently 233 Orange County youth in the foster care system who are still on a Waitlist hoping to be matched with a trained CASA volunteer. Many of these children and young adults have no family support and wait many months for a CASA. Norma and her team host information sessions and staff recruitment tables at events throughout Orange County to share the mission of CASA and to recruit more volunteers to provide advocacy and mentorship to these youth.

But the number of children in need continues to grow and the importance of a diverse volunteer base, that mirrors the demographics of the youth CASA serves, is a big focus of Norma and her team. To support that effort, the CASA Diversity Committee was formed a few years ago to develop strategies for attracting and retaining a diverse pool of volunteers. The committee is made up of a cross section of people engaged with CASA including a representative from CASA’s Board of Directors, currently held by CASA Board Member Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, President and CEO of ECOS.

Two of the recent initiatives to spring from this committee are the diversity-driven affinity groups, Men of CASA and Comunidad CASA. Both groups provide a space for volunteers to come together, connect and share their unique experiences as advocates. Men of CASA focuses on strategies for recruiting more men and Comunidad CASA works towards engaging more Hispanic/Latinx volunteers. In addition to these two demographic groups, CASA is committed to being a welcoming space for the 30% of youth in the child welfare system who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. CASA works closely with the Human Rights Campaign's All Children, All Families program, which provides best practice guidelines for child welfare agencies to build a welcoming and affirming space for the LGBTQ+ community. CASA OC will be at this year's OC Pride and Long Beach Pride festivals with the goal of recruiting more LGBTQ+ advocates to mentor these youth.

Men of CASA and Comunidad CASA

David Cavanaugh has been a CASA for several years and has participated in the Men of CASA since its launch in October 2022. As an introvert, David enjoys the opportunity to connect with a small group of men, learn how they spend time with their youth and compare notes on behaviors they’ve seen. Before retiring, David was a marriage and family therapist and found that men and adolescent boys often preferred having a male therapist. He said, “There is a unique camaraderie there. With boys, there is a difference in the way we are in the world. Boys often get overwhelmed with a lot of words so they appreciate someone who can put it on the line with them and then move on”

He and the other members of Men of CASA work together to develop ways to bring more men to the important role of serving as advocates. David says, “Boys grow up to be the kind of men they have as role models so this role is so important in their lives. A lot of boys enjoy sports and like having someone in their lives who shares that interest. It's important to match a youth with an adult with similar interests.”

Ruth Cochran is part of the Comunidad CASA group which seeks to connect with potential Hispanic volunteers. Ruth, who was originally from Mexico, is currently matched with a Hispanic youth. She says, “My kiddo is Mexican; he’s placed with family and goes to school with kids who look like him so he doesn’t stand out in any way. But other kids are pulled from their family and everyone who is similar to them, and thrown into a completely different environment. They are often removed from the food, language and cultural things that are familiar and important to them.”

She shares a story from a Dia de los Muertos event held last year at the CASA OC office. This holiday has deep cultural roots in the Latino community and marks an important way to recognize and honor deceased loved ones. A Hispanic advocate and her youth attended together and the advocate was able to point out the different elements of the ofrenda (altar) and explain the significance of the marigolds and other parts of the display to her youth. “Having a CASA that’s culturally aligned can help keep a child connected to his world. Kids need that kind of connection in addition to just having a buddy who takes them to do fun things,” said Ruth. 

Dia de los Muertos event

Norma echoes the importance of advocates having cultural awareness and speaking the same native (primary) language as their youth and the caregiver or resource parent (formerly known as foster parent.) According to Norma, “There are so many layers of belonging that can be stripped away from a child in care; there’s the layer of not being with your family of origin, there’s the layer of not being with people who speak the language you are most comfortable with, and there’s the layer of cultural dynamics.” She gives an example of access to therapy which can be a taboo in the Hispanic/Latinx community. “Having an advocate that understands this taboo and can have conversations with both the caregiver and their youth, in their native tongue, can make a big difference in getting youth the care they need.” 

CASA Board Member Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks is embracing her new role on the Diversity Committee. Her personal and professional story are woven together from a diverse background that included a father who immigrated to the United States from Greece and an African American mom who was raised in the foster care system herself. Kelly says, “My mom lived in twelve different foster homes, until finally spending her high school years with one family. I want kids like my mom to have someone there for them so they don’t get lost in the system, and that’s why I’m so passionate about supporting CASA.”

Kelly was raised by her mom, and her early death from breast cancer gave Kelly the deep passion to run a business that protects the health of both people and the planet. As President and CEO of ECOS, an Orange County-based manufacturer of plant-powered cleaning products, Kelly leads with a personal and corporate focus on social responsibility, safer chemistry, and sustainable manufacturing. 

Kelly is already leaning into her commitment to diversity in her work with CASA. In April, ECOS will host an on-site Earth Day event for CASA youth and their advocates with activities designed to inspire youth to pursue careers in green science, sustainable manufacturing, and more. Kelly is encouraging her staff to attend the event so they have an opportunity to learn what CASA is all about. She says, “More than 60% of our team at our Orange County facility are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and many are native Spanish speakers. There’s a tremendous need for Spanish-speaking CASAs, so if we can get our employees excited about and involved with CASA, we can really move the needle on recruiting more diverse volunteers!”

(L) CASA Board Member and Diversity Committee member, Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, President and CEO of ECOS. (R): ECOS Staff.

Kelly will follow the Earth Day event with a Lunch & Learn CASA recruitment event at ECOS headquarters. “I’ll have our entire ECOS team attend the recruitment event and will encourage them to bring family, friends, or anyone interested in learning more about or serving as a CASA. We’ve also invited all the CASA board members and other community leaders to attend.” She emphasizes, “I’m hoping this model is successful and can be replicated by other companies because I truly believe local businesses can be very instrumental in engaging lots of diverse candidates as CASAs.” 

She is confident the business community can be a bigger part of the solution. “My goal is to have any child who requests a CASA to have one. And to ensure our CASAs' makeup is aligned with the children we are serving. I hope we can deliver exponentially higher recruitment and diversity results and I believe we can get it done.”

Another way CASA hopes to expand recruitment and serve more children is by launching a newly expanded volunteer opportunity for Family Finding advocates. Tara Dempster, CASA’s Family Finding Manager, describes the role, “Family Finding advocates play a crucial role in connecting children and youth in foster care with their families of origin and other significant adults in their lives. Maintaining connections with biological family members helps youth in foster care maintain a sense of identity and cultural roots. Understanding one's heritage and background is crucial for healthy development and self-esteem.” According to Tara, this largely remote position will provide tremendous flexibility for volunteers and the work can be conducted around the volunteer’s schedule. Family Finding work involves online research to locate family members and, when appropriate, working collaboratively with the youth’s team to make contact with family members to develop renewed family connections. 

As Recruitment Manager for CASA, Norma is enthusiastic about the expanded opportunities to recruit diverse candidates to become advocates. “The recruitment process is very much a living, breathing process. We are constantly making changes and evolving. Ultimately, we will have different tracks to offer to new volunteers once they complete their mandatory training. We are building ways to do more early intervention and ultimately serve more kids. Our expanded Family Finding effort will be huge for that.”

To learn more about becoming a CASA, you are invited to attend a CASA Information Session. If you’d like to learn more about hosting a recruitment event, click here. To find out more about the new Family Finding advocate role, click here.