Court advocates speak up for most vulnerable kids

I became aware of Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, also known as CASA of DuPage, about 10 years ago.

An acquaintance in Wheaton was serving as a CASA advocate and shared heart-wrenching stories about a child headed for a foster home who needed someone to be her "eyes and ears."

Her letter explained how advocates were assigned to be the voice for children in the courts to ensure CASA's vision that "every child has a right to a safe, permanent, nurturing home."

Though "casa" means home in Spanish, at first, seeing it in print was slightly confusing. With three teenagers under our roof, I'd also become aware of the Naperville Task Force for Drug Free Youth advocacy group that called itself Community Against Substance Abuse. The group, known in part for its Red Ribbon awareness campaign, also was called CASA.

Over time, I learned to distinguish between the groups and their outreach programs.

Several years ago, while visiting my folks in Muncie, Ind., I ran into a childhood friend who is now an attorney. He explained he was doing pro bono work in Indianapolis.

He described a horrific scene of a child caught in a custody battle and how he served as a court-appointed advocate to guarantee the child received services, including foster care, because sadly both parents were unfit.

I told him about CASA of DuPage.

"That's exactly it!" he said. "In Indianapolis it's known as GAL/CASA (Guardian ad litem/Court Appointed Special Advocates)." And he educated me about the scope of the national organization, launched in the 1970s by a juvenile court judge in Seattle.

According to CASA's Web site, www.nationalcasa.org: "In 1977, a Seattle Superior Court Judge named David Soukup was concerned about trying to make decisions on behalf of abused and neglected children without enough information.

"He conceived the idea of appointing community volunteers to speak up for the best interests of these children in court. He made a request for volunteers; 50 citizens responded, and that was the start of the CASA movement."

About two years ago, I met Naperville resident Karen Helm, who also serves among the more than 50,000 CASA advocates nationwide. She brought the impact of CASA home.

"We conduct in-depth fact-finding needed to represent the best long-term interests of children," Helm said the other day. "Then we write objective reports and express no opinions. Our motives are only for the child's best interests."

During CASA's first 30 years, trained volunteers have helped more than 1 million children.

Another case for art

These snapshots about CASA advocates were inspired by an e-mail from Kay Hedeen, executive director of CASA of DuPage. She's promoting an innovative idea for volunteer artists to paint suitcases.

"CASA is working on a project that will benefit children being removed from home and placed into care," she wrote. "In a nutshell, gently used suitcases are being donated and local artists are 'theme painting' them. The suitcases will be distributed by the DCFS office in Glen Ellyn."

Hedeen sent color photos of several suitcases decorated with images -- Spiderman, cartoon characters, unicorns -- that will appeal to children.

Later she noted CASA served 240 youths in 2007. Hedeen expects another 70 to 80 children will need advocates within a year.

That means CASA could use 70 to 80 suitcases.

So far Hedeen has about 30.

She also said seventh- and eighth-grade students from St. Michael School in Wheaton had the idea to collect "age- and gender-appropriate new items to be placed inside pillowcases or zip-lock bags to be given to children who are removed from home."

Suggested items are T-shirts, pajama bottoms to wear with T-shirts, underwear, personal hygiene items, chapter books and coloring books with Crayons.

The personal items, she said, would fit inside the suitcases.

I figured if this idea motivated me to go into the attic to pull out several gently used suitcases, other families might be interested, too.

If you're an artist or if you can provide a new or gently used suitcase or overnight duffel bag, call Hedeen at (630) 221-0889, ext. 305.

For more information about CASA of DuPage, visit www.dupagecasa.org.