Local CASA volunteers advocate for abused children

More than five children die every day in the United States as a result of child abuse.

But in 2011, 399 abused and neglected children were served by Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates, volunteers who are appointed by judges to represent child victims of physical and sexual abuse and neglect.

The National CASA Association is a network of 955 programs in the U.S., including Monroe County CASA, which was launched in 1983 and funded by grants and in-kind contributions from the City of Bloomington and legal and child advocate organizations.

After an interview and application process, volunteers are trained for 35 hours during a five-week period and are educated about the functions of the legal system as well as the social dysfunctions of abuse.

Once a case, which is reported to the Indiana Department of Child Services, is taken by a judge, the CASA program is notified, and a volunteer is given a child’s case.

CASA volunteers also gather information about the child’s situations and may talk to parents, family members, friends, teachers, doctors and others who know the child. Through investigation and data collection, such as written records or reports, the advocates will then report to the court and make recommendations for the child’s future.

 “What they do is speak in the best interest of the child,” said Kristin Bishay, director of Monroe County CASA and former volunteer. “There’s a big difference between that and speaking for the child.”

For cases that involve parental termination with the child, CASA will often appoint an attorney to give them legal protection. Those cases, Bishay said, tend to be
contentious.

Former Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Viola Taliaferro, who was a judge in juvenile court before retiring in 2004, said attorneys for the CASA volunteers also provide legal protection for the child.

Taliaferro said because they provide information to the court, CASA volunteers don’t require legal training.

“If the child says to the attorney, ‘I don’t want to go home, no matter what my mom or dad will say,’ the attorney may feel differently,” Taliaferro said. “That would not be a question of best interest.”

By law, children who are victims of abuse or neglect are required to have a CASA, or a Guardian Ad Litem, which is another volunteer role that entails the same duties of a CASA. 

Les Wadzinski, who has been a CASA volunteer for a year and works as a adjunct professor for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, has been working on a single case since he was first appointed by the judge.

“It’s a long, slow process,” he said. “The bureaucracy sort of slows things up. It gets in the way sometimes. It’s a double-edged sword.”

The Child Abuse Hotline, operated by the Indiana Child Abuse Services, was created in 2010 for people to report suspected cases of child abuse. The allegations must meet the statutory definitions of child abuse and neglect, and the report must contain enough information to identify the child’s whereabouts.

DCS can’t legally make an assessment of the report if a particular incident doesn’t warrant an investigation.

Wadzinski, who devotes about 20 hours a month as a CASA volunteer, said advocates should be prepared to be patient and to face difficult situations.

“But also you know that you’re making a difference in some kid’s life, and you’re getting them to go down the right path,” he said.