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 In my 10 years on the bench, one of my greatest fears was making the "wrong" decision concerning a child's welfare. Thanks to the CASA program, I was able to "hear from the child", and make the best decision possible. Judge Larry A. Jordan, Ret. Mission: We recruit, screen, train, supervise and support community volunteers who are appointed to investigate custody and visitation disputes in order to give children a voice in Court. Purpose: Family Law CASA of King County provides King County Superior Court Judges with comprehensive and un-biased information they need to help make a reasoned decision about what is best for a child's future when the parents or other significant adult family members cannot agree on custody and visitation issues. Need to be Addressed: When parents in conflict choose sides, and allege problems such as domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health issues and other personal failings, the resulting trauma to their children is rarely a primary consideration. It is natural for the invisible 'wounds' of this experience to impact any child's sense of well-being, value, and stability; it is not necessary for the consequences to haunt them for a lifetime.To mitigate the potential damage to children from custody disputes in the family law system, it is often desirable for minor children to have their own advocate. Judges need an impartial outside evaluation of the negative issues impacting the children of families involved in contested family law cases. There is no constitutional right to an attorney for a parent or child in a family law case. As a result, many custody cases come into the court system with parties attempting to represent themselves. Even though parents may be unprepared and without complete legal representation, a Superior Court Judge or Commissioner must still make a custody decision - regardless of whether sufficient information reflecting the best interests of the child was provided. Recruiting Volunteers: The Family Law CASA program utilizes the same proven strategy of the original former program: assist the King County Superior Court with the decision-making process surrounding contested custody disputes involving minor children. Central to this decision-making process is the availability of comprehensive, unbiased information about the circumstances of families embroiled in contested cases. An experienced staff and well-trained CASA volunteers are essential to this process.New volunteers are recruited from the community. They range in age from 21 to 75 and have varied backgrounds and represent a diversity of nationalities, races and religious beliefs. When a volunteer contacts the office, an application is sent out. Once a completed application is returned, an interview is scheduled. The staff performs a background check on the potential volunteer and sends out reference forms. Those volunteers accepted into the program must undergo a 4 day, state mandated, training which is offered about 3 times a year. The curriculum includes a history of the program, interviewing techniques, background on family law, substance abuse and domestic violence topics as well as other issues. The program also offers interim (lunchtime) trainings for experienced volunteers who are required to have 10 hours of ongoing training each year.Family Law CASA volunteers take their role as 'the eyes and ears of the court' seriously. They also provide the personal connection in the court during disputed custody cases. Volunteer's Role The Court assigns the CASA program to a case to investigate and report on the best interests of the child. In a typical case, a volunteer will first meet with a program manager and learn about the case, review relevant papers that have been filed with the court by the parties, and develop a plan on how to proceed. These cases often involve allegations of domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse, and mental illness. The CASA volunteer's procedure typically includes: an in-person interview with each of the parents and a meeting with the child, usually in the home(s) to observe the child with each parent; gathering significant records such as school attendance and report cards; filings, if any, with Children's Protective Services; inquiries about the family; review of a criminal records check performed by the staff, and review counseling or treatment records of the parents. The CASA volunteer will normally call collateral references such as day care workers, babysitters, and other family members or friends who may be able to provide information and perspective on the family and child's life together.Once the investigation is complete, the CASA volunteer writes a report describing the background of the child and family, the situation that brought them to court, and an assessment of each person interviewed. Conclusions and recommendations regarding the best interests of the child, complete the volunteer's report to the court. Before being submitted, the report is reviewed by a Family Law CASA assistant program manager and the staff attorney. The CASA volunteer may need to appear at a court hearing to discuss the report with the Court. Often additional investigation is needed before the case is resolved or goes to trial. A volunteer may need to write additional reports as issues change within the family. Finally the CASA volunteer may need to appear at a settlement conference where the parties attempt to resolve the case without court action. If that process is not successful, the volunteer, as the Court Appointed Special Advocate, may need to testify at the trial. Time Involved: Cases average 6-12 months and often include more than one child per family. A volunteer may spend 40-60 hours working on a case but the length varies with each case. Training and court appearances are scheduled during the week but much of the investigation can be done during evening or weekend hours. If you are interested call us at 206-748-9700 or send us an e-mail at familylawcasa@speakeasy.net. |