A 15 pound boy was rushed into an Oklahoma emergency room. He had been beaten and deprived of food and water. He was severely dehydrated, malnourished, and covered with bruises. His kidneys were failing and his liver had already failed. He had a major skull fracture. He had no hair - it had been torn out by the roots. He was two years old.
Over 450,000 foster children live in 'temporary' foster care in Cook County alone. Most of them have been removed from their homes because of parental abuse or neglect. Children who are taken from their families and placed into the system are robbed of any permanence in their lives. They are put in an unfamiliar place, with a brand-new school and a family of strangers. It's common for children who have suffered horrible, unthinkable abuses to beg to be taken back to their homes, just because their old homes are all that they know. Foster children are frequently shuffled between foster homes more than once every twelve months, and they have to begin their lives all over again each time. The average child in Cook County spends 3.1 years bouncing from home to home. And the most tragic part of this story is that it doesn't have to be this way. The only reason that child placement takes so long is simply because the juvenile court is overwhelmed with cases. There aren't enough judges to make rulings, and with overburdened caseloads, a social worker may not have the time to give the thorough attention that each child deserves.
This is how you can help. Join U of C CASA. We train and organize volunteers to speak up in court for the best interests of a child. Volunteers are assigned to a team which will work with one child. They conduct research on the background of the case, review documents, and interview parents, teachers, doctors, and most importantly, the child. They make reports to the court, providing the judge with impartial information about what is best for the child. During the life of a case the volunteers monitor the childps situation to make sure that he remains safe. The CASA volunteer may be the only constant that the child knows as he moves through the labyrinth of the child welfare system. An hour or two a week could be all it takes to make a real difference in a child's life.
A CASA volunteer was appointed to the Oklahoma boy's case. The boy had been living with his father and stepmother. The volunteer found the boy's birth mother, thought to have abandoned her son. In fact, she lived in a shelter nearby. The mother explained that her ex-husband had beaten her and warned her to stay away from the child. The mother had a drug problem, but with assistance was able to comply with court-ordered treatment and gain conditional custody of her son. With the help of the CASA volunteer, the child received special therapy. The mother, now drug free and attending AA and college, is attempting to regain permanent custody of her son, who is healthy and happy.
Cook County CASA will be training new U of C CASAs the week after school ends. If you're going to be in Chicago this summer, please get in touch with us as soon as possible to get an application!
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