Chlo’e Edwards worked with a court-appointed special advocate when she was a child and volunteered as a CASA as an adult. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Some of the best gifts can’t be wrapped.
For children whose family situations lead to formal investigations into their home environments, court-appointed special advocates — or CASAs — take on the role of investigators, listeners and reporters, all so each child can be given what every child deserves: a safe and healthy home.
“Our advocates give hundreds and hundreds of hours of their time to ensure that children are free from abuse and neglect,” says Jeannine Panzera, executive director of Henrico CASA, one of 27 CASA programs statewide. “We are giving the gift of healthy families, healthy childhoods, a chance for a brighter future.
“We know what happens in early childhood matters for a lifetime,” she adds.
Henrico CASA is seeing an uptick in cases following a dip during the pandemic. From July 1 to Oct. 25, 2021, 67 new cases were reported, compared with 49 in the prior period — a 40% increase. The jump was expected.
“We’ve been so worried for the last year and a half,” Panzera says. “The term ‘safe at home’ didn’t apply to everyone. There were men and women isolated at home, and there were children at home with the risk of abuse and trauma. We know when children aren’t in front of professionals who are responsible for reporting, it doesn’t mean [abuse] isn’t happening, it’s just not being reported.”
Henrico CASA is notified by the court system when a case involving a child’s welfare begins. As a nonprofit, the agency receives federal and state funding, as well as support from local foundations and corporations. “Because we’re independent and utilizing trained community volunteers, that can come across differently to families with a distrust of ‘the system,’ ” Panzera says. “Our advocates are volunteering their time to help … and often provide a single point of continuity to stand in the gap” between the court and social welfare systems.
Chlo’e Edwards says her advocate worked with her and her sister for three years as their case progressed. Over time, Edwards says, she and her advocate forged a relationship despite cultural and age differences, meeting at Edwards’ school, which was neutral ground.
“Mom didn’t want to let this stranger into the house,” Edwards says. “I was grateful [to have the option to meet at school], however, because my mother did surveillance on us in the home, and I was unable to be honest [there].”
After college and graduate school, Edwards, who is now a policy analyst for Voices for Virginia’s Children, worked as a CASA herself; her swearing-in was attended by her advocate from years before. Edwards says her experience as a child spurred her to become an advocate as an adult.
“My case was very similar to the case I had; it made [me] more empathetic toward the child’s perspective,” she says. “A lot of times, adults overlook children, and their voice and experiences.”
Though she’s moved on to other volunteer work, Edwards hopes that every CASA will approach each case with curiosity. “The point is to go in without biases — even as we all have biases,” she says. “You need to be the child’s advocate in all forms, ensuring what’s best for the child and also [paying attention to] what’s going on in the world.”
Advocate candidates go through a multistep process before they ever handle a case. Potential volunteers are screened and have background checks, as well as in-person interviews, followed by 40 hours of in-person training. Once that training is complete, the advocate is sworn in before a judge and becomes an officer of the court.
Training and ongoing support is essential, says Harvey Gutkin, who has worked with 57 children in 31 families over his 11 years as an advocate. “You have to be a bit of a detective,” he says, noting that he always dresses casually when he visits a home, to reinforce the point that he’s “just a regular person.”
He says he still recalls one exercise from his training: The group was shown a picture of a less-than-perfect home’s interior and encouraged to find something positive in the image, such as toys, or food in the refrigerator, indications that the parents were trying. “It made the point that you can’t bring your values to a case,” he says. “You’re going into homes that might not look like anything you’ve seen before.”
Putting the child first is critical, Gutkin says, noting that over the years, he’s connected with teenage boys by bringing a basketball so they could shoot hoops and elementary-aged children by talking about the cartoons they love — which he’s learned about from his grandchildren, who first inspired him to volunteer.
“You always try to find something [children] can relate to,” he says, adding that the primary goal from an advocate’s perspective is to make sure the child is safe, followed closely by family unification. “There are a lot of children who need help,” he says. “You think of a gift as a toy, but this is a gift of a safe and happy living situation.”
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