In the U.S., nearly 57,000 young people make up the child welfare system. Placer County has about 300 cases currently. What happens to these youngsters who are left to navigate the juvenile justice system without proper support? They get CASAs—Court Appointed Special Advocates—who were born from the lack of sufficient information and representation of abused and neglected children in juvenile courtrooms. 

To address the problem closer to home, Child Advocates of Placer County was started in 2004 to establish the CASA program for the Placer County Juvenile Dependency Court and the Placer Mentor program. As of 2015, CASA volunteers and mentors were provided to 447 foster children and 101 at-risk youth and former foster youth. Their goal is to increase all-around community wellness. “We want to see our youth make better life choices, and become happy, stable and contributing adults; we want parents to reunify with their children and rebuild families; and we want our volunteers to come away with a feeling of the joy that comes from ‘giving back’ in a meaningful way,” says Megan Boespflug, development director at Child Advocates of Placer County. 

The Placer Mentor program provides mentors for children who are at-risk of entering the juvenile or welfare systems, former foster youth transitioning into adulthood, and parents developing life skills to be able to reunite with their children. Through their programs, Child Advocates of Placer County finds permanent or stable homes, helps prevent drug and alcohol use and teen pregnancies, increases high school graduation rates, and brings employment opportunities to local youth. 

Cathy SooHoo from Roseville has served eight children in court as a CASA, and mentored one family. “The biggest challenge is watching the kids change schools, family homes or foster homes multiple times,” she shares. “One of my kids said ‘I feel like a piece of furniture, moving from house to house.’ I am just fortunate to be the constant in their life.” SooHoo tells of another child who was removed from her parents’ home, placed with her grandma, and moved into foster care once her grandma passed away. “At the time, she was so scared,” SooHoo recalls. But with her support, the child graduated high school—becoming the first person in her family to do so.

Victories are aplenty, even if unclear at first, as Kelly Holliman, a volunteer from Lincoln describes. “I had one child who I thought I couldn’t connect with very well for six months. When the case was closed, the child asked their mother if they’d still get to see me every week…talk about a rewarding outcome; not only for the child, but [also the fact that] I connected with them when I didn’t even think I had.” 

These children value the presence of a responsible, caring adult in their lives. “[My CASA] worked hard to get me back home and he never gave up,” says one. “She’s there for me every single time I call to talk to her ‘cause I need her,” says another. Sometimes it doesn’t take a village—it only takes one.

By Tara Mendanha

casaplacer.org