Guardians ad litem (GALs) represent the best interests of the child in Juvenile Court maltreatment proceedings. They may be paid staff or volunteers. Volunteer GALs are recruited and trained by the nonprofit CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
CASA volunteers have become passionate advocates for children. And they often can spend more time with children than paid GALs, who handle large caseloads.
But as this Neal St. Anthony article describes, the state agency that manages GALs isn’t allowing CASA to recruit new volunteers. Unless this changes CASA will soon die through attrition.
State leadership is appropriately concerned about efficiently supervising volunteers with small caseloads, and maintaining consistent quality. But 97,000 CASA volunteers operate in 49 states, suggesting that these challenges are manageable.
The state GAL board will vote on CASA’s future this spring. We encourage them to keep this valuable program.
Listen to this blog and its accompanying podcast, including in-depth commentary and analysis, in this week’s podcast, here or wherever you hear your favorite shows.
The Safe Passage 2022 webinar series is starting anew on February 2nd with a preview of the upcoming state legislative session with lobbyist Kirsten Christopherson and her team. You can register for that webinar here.
Future webinar presentations include:
- On 2/16/22 Attorney Jeff Montpetit will talk about the impact of the recent state Supreme Court decision on the Eric Dean case on the potential for more legal actions in child protection
- On 3/2/22 Marie Cohen, creator and writer of the Child Welfare Monitor, will discuss her blog and the impact it is having on child welfare practices nationally
- On 3/16/22 Violence Free Minnesota manager Nikki Engel will share how her association represents the interests of domestic violence programs across the state
- On 3/30/22 New Children’s Home Society Executive Director Heidi Wiste will talk about her agency’s mission as part of Lutheran Social Service, and current trends in adoptions
- On 4/3/22 Lilia Pantaleeva, Executive Director of the Children’s Law Center, will inform participants about her agency’s mission and challenges
Oh no! How can people protest this closing?!