A SAFE PERMANENT HOME ISN’T SOMETHING A CHILD SHOULD ONLY DREAM ABOUT
 
 
What is a CASA volunteer?  A CASA volunteer is an officer of the court.  A judge appoints a special advocate, as mandated in SDCL 26-8A-20, to represent the best interest of an abused or neglected child in court proceedings.
 
What does a CASA volunteer do?  A trained CASA volunteer gathers information for the court.  He or she recommends to the judge what the child needs to be safe and what is in the child’s best interest for a permanent home.  A CASA volunteer advocates for a speedy decision that considers a child’s sense of time.
 
Why does a child need a CASA volunteer?  When the court is making decisions that will affect a child’s future, the child needs and deserves a spokesperson—an objective adult to provide independent information about the best interests of the child.   While other parties in the case are concerned about the child, they also have other interests.  The CASA is the only person in the case whose sole concern is the best interest of the child.  CASA volunteers are assigned one case at a time, one CASA to one case, to provide a “voice in court”.  A CASA gives individual attention to each case.
 
An abused or neglected child has come from a world of chaos and instability.  For the child, there is fear; fear of being hurt; fear of being alone and fear about the future.  For children who are in out of home placements, there can be many changes in schools and homes before a decision is made on where the child should live.  A CASA volunteer can be the sole source of stability and comfort to fill an enormous void in the child’s life. A CASA is a trusted, dependable adult who doesn’t go away and who gives the child hope for a better future.  House Bill No. 1247 is a bill to benefit our most vulnerable children, those who have been abused and neglected.
 
What is the difference between the CASA and a Social Worker?  The roles are not the same.  The CASA is independent from the social services system and focuses solely on the child.  The DSS/CPS caseworker serves the family—parents and child—by providing direct services.  DSS/CPS caseworkers are not able to be a wholly independent voice because they are part of the agency that has already taken a position in the case by filing a petition and bringing the matter to court.  A CASA is an independent voice, not part of an agency that may be constrained by rules and regulations, agency policies and fiscal limitations.  The CASA volunteer is an officer of the court.
 
Why does a child need both a CASA volunteer and an attorney?  A CASA volunteer is able to spend as much time as it takes to gather information about the child and the child’s family.  A CASA serves at the request of a judge and provides a report on the best placement for a child.  If a court had to pay an attorney to do this job, it would be too costly.  A child’s attorney provides legal representation.  The CASA volunteer and the child’s attorney can work as a team to represent the best interest of the child.