What do you picture when you hear Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)? Before I knew better, I might have imagined a distant figure in a suit, briefcase in hand, barely noticing the children around them. It is easy to confuse the role with others in the child welfare system. The words court appointed can sound cold and formal if you have never met someone from our organization. So, what does being a CASA really mean?
After seven years, my heart still leaps whenever my CASA child needs me. It never gets easier. Each time, I wonder: what if I had not been there? That question tugs at me, both breaking and humbling my heart. For me, being a CASA means standing guard, fiercely protective, like a Mama Bear. I believe a CASA is a source of comfort and stability, someone who truly listens and cares. We are volunteers, not legal experts, and that is our superpower. Our fresh eyes let us see each child as unique and ask, “If this were my child, what would I want for them?” There is no pressure from supervisors or office politics. Our only mission is to champion the child’s best interest.
As advocates, we lend our voices to those who need it most, bringing compassion to a system stretched thin by stress and trauma. As a parent, when my own children come home upset from school, they know I will make calls, write emails, and make sure things change. We take that for granted, but kids in foster care do not always have someone like that. A Court Appointed Special Advocate can be that person. That is what being a CASA means to me.
