Child advocates mark 20th year

Michael Yanatov says he is proud of the roughly three years spent volunteering on behalf of Kane County's abused and neglected children -- and he wishes it was his last day on the job.

That would mean an end to his stint as a court-appointed special advocate, an end to youngsters who are thrust into a legal system needing an adult to look out for their interests.

But Yanatov knows there's more work to be done.

"Children need to look in the face of an adult and see a face that doesn't lie," he told about 100 fellow advocates last Thursday night.

Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, Kane County marks its 20th anniversary this year, a milestone celebrated at an emotional event at the Paramount Theater in Aurora.

For the volunteers, judges and attorneys who've worked with CASA over two decades, the gathering was a chance to reconnect with old friends as much as an opportunity to reflect on the triumphs and growing pains in the agency's tenure.

In 1977, the first CASA program was launched in Seattle and other communities nationwide began creating their own, including Kane County in 1988.

At the time, Kane County's fledgling program had seven trained CASA volunteers representing seven children.

Today, CASA Kane County had increased to an agency with 212 volunteer advocates who each year serve more than 450 children, said Gloria Bunce, CASA's executive director.

In Illinois, CASAs last year logged about 154,000 volunteer hours on their caseloads, Bunce said. About 17,000 hours were from Kane County volunteers, who "give hope to those who may never have known hope before," Bunce said.

The agency also recognized several long-serving volunteers -- and swore in 13 new ones -- at the celebration.

The agency's Pro Bono Attorney Award was given to Geneva lawyer Charles Radovich. The Doris Hunt Volunteer Recognition Award was given to 14-year CASA veteran Joyce Egan.

Donald Hudson, the chief judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit, started his tenure on the bench in juvenile court and has watched firsthand as the Kane County CASA program has grown.

"In this day and age, it's easy to become jaded and to sit on the sidelines," Hudson, the event's keynote speaker, said. "To give a child a CASA is to give them a voice, and to give them a voice is to give them hope."