CASA volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, most unrelated to the foster care system. But every volunteer goes through the same thorough training program before being sworn-in and matched with a youth on the CASA Waitlist. Ongoing training opportunities are consistently made available to volunteers featuring topics like neurodiversity, self-care and childhood trauma to build skills and confidence.
CASA volunteer Kathy Lawrence completed her training eight years ago but still becomes emotional when describing the impact of one her experiences in training. “One session was about demonstrating how many professionals are needed to help these kids. Out of a room of around 40 trainees, they asked people to come forward to represent the social worker, the attorney, the educational-rights holder, the therapist, and so on until there was almost no one left sitting in their seats.” Kathy wipes her eyes as she says, “What an impact it made to see how much help these children need. It was an overwhelming visual and reinforced my desire to contribute to being a part of that.”
Kathy is 73 years old and learned about CASA when serving on Jury Duty where she saw a CASA advertisement play on the TV in the jury room. She knew she wanted to do something meaningful with her time once she retired and had always loved working with children. When she retired in 2016, she signed up to become a CASA, went through training, was sworn in and quickly matched with her first youth.
He was a young teenager who was serving time in Juvenile Hall. Kathy says, “He was an amazing young man. He had a good heart but was thrown into a crappy situation. Most of our time together he was in Juvenile Hall so I would just go and hang out with him and we’d spend our time talking. When it was time to be released, he ran away and I never saw him again. I still think about him a lot and wonder how he’s doing.”
After a couple of short term assignments, Kathy was eventually matched with *Jack. The two were matched in 2019 and spent the early days of Covid meeting outside of his foster home playing puzzles and talking. During those years Jack first came out as gay and then transitioned to identifying as male (and changed his name to Jack.) Kathy says, “He’s so bright, smart and funny. I’m very open and have no problems with any of it. People need to be who they need to be.”
She describes their time together, “In the early days, I just tried to introduce him to a lot of things; we’d go to Color Me Mine type places and play with pottery. He’s into sports so I’d try my best to play basketball which was hysterical,” she says laughing. Jack no longer has any contact with his family and Kathy says, “My firm belief is that none of these kids asked to be where they are and that’s the heart-breaking part. They didn’t make the bad decisions their caregivers did, so when they act out, they’re just being teenagers who have not been given the best start in life.”
Kathy shares frustrations she has with the system, “He started getting into some trouble and has been in and out of 3-4 group homes, 2-3 foster homes, and Orangewood (Children & Family Center) 4-5 times. It’s such an artificial living environment for these kids, how do we expect them to behave in a normal way? It’s heartbreaking.” She describes other challenges Jack faces, “In the 4+ years I’ve known him, I don’t think he’s been to school for a solid month. He gets moved all over the place and who wants to start a new school in the middle of the year when you’re already so far behind? He’s so bright but he’s so far behind educationally, it’s sad. Kids need structure. We can’t force kids to do things, but there needs to be encouragement and enforcement to get them to at least show up.”
Kathy does what she can to help Jack navigate these challenges by being a safe space for him to blow off steam. “He’ll come out to the car all worked up and cussing up a blue streak, and then he calms down as he begins talking. We’ve developed a relationship where he knows I’m a safe person, but I can still be straight with him.”
Kathy credits her Advocate Supervisor, Andy Jacobson, for helping her navigate this challenging case. “What would I do without Andy? She’s not only the most amazing supervisor I could have asked for, but she’s empathetic, compassionate and always available. I’ve had situations come up on the weekend which I know are not her working hours, I’ve texted her and she’ll always get right back to me. She cares as much as I do. I know I have someone who has my back and she’s saved me from making the wrong decisions.” Kathy laughs as she says, “Andy continues to train me. I love to watch her sit down and talk to these kids like they’re adult human beings with a brain in their head. She doesn’t cut them any slack but interacts in a very caring, compassionate way.”
Andy says she selected Kathy to be featured as the Advocate of the Month because, “Kathy has truly been an exceptional CASA over the past 7.5 years. Her wisdom and her profound understanding of the complexities of what her current youth is experiencing are so well demonstrated in her innate ability to navigate the extreme challenges and be a stable and healthy support in his life irrespective of his choices. Her patience, her realistic expectations and truly meeting her youth where he is at has allowed for the development of a deep and trusting relationship. And the cherry on the top is her wonderful sense of humor. It is such an honor and pleasure to work alongside Kathy."
When asked what she’s learned as a CASA, Kathy says, “It’s so rewarding, It’s just about time and patience. You have to go into this with managed expectations. We are just here to help kids move on to the next phase of their lives. If my kiddo takes one little thing and it helps him be successful, I will have done my job.” She continues, “I’ve learned I can’t fix everything, they have to get to that point on their own, but I’m there to listen, to encourage, and maybe there will be things I say that will make an impact on them. Maybe success is just getting them to go to school 2 out of 5 days in a week. I’m not gonna give up.”
To learn more about becoming a CASA, sign-up to attend one of our upcoming Information Sessions or email CASA’s Volunteer Recruitment and DEIB Manager, Norma Mendoza.
*Name changed to protect privacy.