CASA volunteer Steffanie Belasco had a long career as a speech pathologist working in both public schools and a private practice. Over the years, she had students who were experiencing homelessness or in other abusive situations and her classroom became a safe place for them to hang out and have lunch with her. One of her fellow teachers was volunteering as a CASA and told Steffanie that CASA would be a “perfect fit” for her when she retired.

In 2018, Steffanie did retire, took a cruise with her husband and, upon her return, immediately signed up for CASA training. According to Steffanie, “It really is a perfect fit for me. In the past, when I’d try to advocate for my students, I could only go so far within the constraints of my job. I love this role as a court-appointed advocate where I feel I can be more effective for kids.” 

CASA’s extensive training was wonderful according to Steffanie. “I had exposure to some elements as a Speech Pathologist and was very familiar with Individual Education Plans (IEPs), but the whole dependency system and how it works, was new to me. The training was very valuable and there’s always something new to learn,” she said. 

Her background and experience working with youth with special needs proved beneficial when she was matched with her youth *Nadine who was 13 when they met. Nadine was not exposed to school or an educational environment until she was nine years old. She has been diagnosed with autism and other learning disabilities, and adapting to a school environment and being around other children was difficult for her. 

Steffanie says she takes things slowly with Nadine; “She needs smaller steps to keep her from freezing-up.”  She relates an experience Nadine had with a previous CASA who tried to take her to a library and Nadine “had a complete meltdown.”  Steffanie decided to get Nadine a magic kit for the first birthday that they celebrated together and reserved a private room at the Newport Beach Library. “I figured we’d see what happens when we just walk into a library together. I had the magic set and a couple books with me. We visited the private room and just stayed in there and played. I thought, ‘OK, I can start introducing her to some things.’  It was really wonderful.”

It’s been more than five years since Steffanie and Nadine were first matched and when Nadine asks if Steffanie is going to leave her, Steffanie jokingly tells her, “only if you fire me” and tells her, “I love being with you and your friends and doing things together but if you don’t want me to be here anymore, you just have to say so.” Nadine has been through a series of social workers over the years so the consistency Steffanie provides is very important to her. 

Devin Juarez is Steffanie’s Advocate Supervisor and he says he nominated Steffanie as Advocate of the Month because of the ways she goes “above and beyond” in advocating for her youth. “Steffanie works so hard to support Nadine, especially in regards to her education and programs that will help her in moving forward, such as job skills, life skills, etc. I cannot speak highly enough about the advocacy Steffanie has done for her youth,” says Devin.

Steffanie shares some of the ways she’s been working with Nadine on life skills. She recently asked Nadine to save up her laundry so they could go to the laundromat together. Steffanie relates, “It was an eye-opening experience for me as well! I asked her to bring a few coins and wanted her to see how much things cost. The cost was almost the entirety of her allowance; I couldn’t believe how expensive it was! It was not an exciting place to hang out but she was great and stuck with it. I taught her a better way to fold clothes so they’re not all squashed up. We spent several hours there in the heat of the summer and she didn't complain at all. I also talked to her about being aware of her environment and the other people there and where it’s safe to sit. It’s helpful to experience things with her to gauge where she’s at in these kinds of situations.”  

“When we go to a restaurant, I have her figure out the tip. I now show her the cost to buy things when we go out so she has a sense of the price of things. She has good judgment and is aware when things are too expensive. I try to help her learn to use her phone for calculations. The same with handling money; she would just throw out money rather than counting it out, which is a good opportunity to be taken advantage of,” said Steffanie.

The two also enjoy time outdoors together and like to go on walks with art or plants. Steffanie has an app that identifies plants, and together they look up the plants they see and Nadine gets practice reading. Steffanie says, “We’ve been to art museums and went to Balboa Island together, she was nervous on the car ferry but open to trying it again. I try to introduce her to new things. She’s open to trying new foods occasionally and recently even tried one of the green smoothies I enjoy.” 

Now that Nadine has finished high school, they’re looking ahead to what’s next. Steffanie admits there is a dizzying array of programs out there; job training, independent living, community college options, etc. And it’s not always easy to navigate. “There is no flow chart or guidelines on all the different programs to apply to for services”, according to Steffanie.

Nadine recently attended her high school graduation. Her foster mom helped her pick out a dress and new sandals and Steffanie bought her a necklace she wore for the occasion. Steffanie says, “Her foster mom got her to put on a little makeup for the day; she helped her with some mascara, lipstick and a subtle shade of eyeshadow. She looked gorgeous and felt it. I started crying when I saw her. It was the best of the best to see that transformation in her.” 

Steffanie attended Nadine’s graduation along with two of Nadine’s siblings who had recently been found by CASA’s Family Finding team. “CASA brought the siblings together. They don’t know each other that well but this summer Nadine will be spending every other weekend at her brother’s house. Both siblings have jobs and are stable people,” said Steffanie.

According to Steffanie, “The rewards of being a CASA overcome everything else. It’s so rewarding seeing the changes over time. The first outing, Nadine chose to sit in the backseat of my car and was rocking a lot with anxiety. By the third outing, she chose to sit next to me in the front. Those little gains, while not pushing too hard, make it so worthwhile. I love everything about being a CASA and always want to be a part of her life.”

If you’d like to learn more about becoming a CASA, please email Norma Mendoza or sign up to attend an upcoming Information Session. To learn more about CASA’s Family Finding work, email Tara Dempster .

*Name changed to preserve confidentiality