These CASA of Bradley County volunteers, recently sworn in at the Bradley County Courthouse, are now prepared to help children in Bradley County who are victims of abuse or neglect. Since beginning in 2008, the local organization has had around 50 individuals serve as CASA volunteers.
A child who has been physically abused or neglected should not have to go through the impending court proceedings alone. In Bradley County, a special program gives these children a partner to help them in these situations.
CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, provides persons to be with that child, to learn what occurred, and to help them when necessary.
“CASA is composed of volunteers, who are recruited, trained and screened, who represent the best interest of kids in the court system who have been abused or neglected,” explained Suzanne Wisdom, CASA of Bradley County executive director.
Before CASA, attorneys serving as Guardian Ad Litems would work with these victimized children, and that process worked well, but the case loads grew and attorneys serving in this capacity saw it affect their workloads.
“ There were just too many cases for all of these kids to have an attorney appointed,” Wisdom said.
“So CASA is a way that the court has found to alleviate the pressure on these attorneys and still have these cases covered.”
CASA is a national organization that began locally as the CASA Corridor, which included not only Bradley County, but McMinn, Meigs and Rhea Counties as well. In 2008, CASA of Bradley County was formed to work with children in this county, and then in 2010, the organization received its own non-profit status (501-c-3 designation).
That allowed CASA of Bradley County to do fundraising and seek grants, but they still needed a push to get them officially operating.
The Bradley Memorial Health Endowment Fund grant from United Way last year was great for us, because it was the only grant that we had that did not specify what we had to use it for, and we could use it for operational funds,” Wisdom explained. Even so, she said that the United Way grant monies were the last ones that she used.
“Having that grant made the first year a lot easier than I thought it would be,” she added.
Easy would not be a word that many might use when thinking of this program, as it deals with situations where children are victims. Wisdom said that it takes a special type person to serve as an advocate.
“We have probably had about 50 in the program since we began,” she said. “We ask that they serve at least a year, but we have also had some who have been with the program all three years.”
Wisdom explained a CASA does to help these children.
Lots of times, parents have attorneys that represent them but the children do not have anybody to help them. These are usually cases where a family member of friend or someone from the church calls in a referral to the Department of Children’s Services or go to the court and file a petition where they tell them about a child who has been abused or neglected,” she said.
“CASAs then talk to the people, such as teachers, around those children and court orders allow us to look at records and then compile a report for the judge to read,” Wisdom continued.
Of course, these advocates have direct contact with the children themselves.
“Most of our cases are small kids and it makes it harder for them to tell someone what’s going on … that’s a good time for them to have a CASA so you don’t have a small child having to testify in court against a parent,” Wisdom said.
“They can talk to us in a comfortable setting and we can report that to the judge.”
Judge Dan Swafford is one who will receive these reports. Wisdom said that he is very supportive of the program and it would not be as successful without his backing.
“We appreciate the support of Judge Swafford, and the confidence he puts in us to help these children going through difficult times,” she said.
Wisdom said the CASAs and victimized children usually bond quickly, which is very important.
“While we have cases that are still active, even after three years, with children who may still be at-risk and that we continue to monitor, we only have a limited amount of time to get the information about the abuse from the child so we can get that to the judge,” she said.
Patrick Long, United Way of Bradley County vice president of Community Impact, sees CASA as filling a very important need in our community.
“These children are already victims, so anything that can be done to ease them through a very difficult situation,” Long said. “We appreciate what CASA provides, and are pleased to be involved with such a program.”
Sarah Anderson, an AmeriCorp VISTA with CASA of Bradley County, said that she is very impressed with the work that she sees from the advocates. She wishes that more and more people in the community knew about the program so more and more would volunteer, and has spent much of her time promoting the organization.
“The more I speak about CASA, the more I realize that there are many who have never heard of it who could really make a difference in a child’s life,” she said.
To help with informing the public about the need for CASA volunteers, and the issue of abused and neglected children, the local organization has been involved in many educational events. They sponsor the Melisha Gibson walk each year, and later this week, will host a fundraising event called “The Red Shoe Gala.”
“Donations from this event help to continue the recruiting, training, and supervising of volunteers who advocate for the best interests of children who come to the attention of the court system,” Wisdom said. “We hope to not only have a fun event that raises money for our cause, but get out information about that cause and how we can all help these children.”
The Red Shoe Gala will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Old Woolen Mill, and will feature a silent auction, live music and a DJ, and food provided by Al Shabibi Catering. Cleveland City Schools Director Dr. Martin Ringstaff will emcee the event.
The red shoe theme represents Dorothy’s shoes in “The Wizard of Oz” and their role in the journey to find her home. CASA’s mission is to find safe, permanent homes for children in need, and by training and supporting community volunteers, CASA is able to help hundreds of abused and neglected children in Bradley County.
Wisdom stressedthere are only a few tickets left for the event, so you need to purchase tickets soon. To do so, contact CASA of Bradley County at 423-716-1844 or email casaofbradleyco@gmail.com .
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www.casaofbradley.com .
