The important mission behind CASA of Los Angeles

Imagine being a foster child with no one to talk to about what you're going through, feeling completely alone and overwhelmed. Well, that's where court-appointed special advocate of Los Angeles, or CASA LA for short, comes in. Casa LA encourages people to volunteer to help these children. So what do they do? They show up, they speak up, they advocate for a child as they maneuver through the foster care and court systems. Here to talk more about Casa of Los Angeles and an upcoming event to help raise money for this important group, Chiquoya Green, Long, she's a CEO of Casa LA and Renny Bilson, who has worked with the group for over 40 years as a volunteer. Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having us. Gosh, the work that you're doing is so important and critically necessary. So talk about, first of all, Casa LA's mission and how the whole thing works. So Casa LA, as you shared, trains volunteers from the community. To advocate for the youth in the foster care system. And this program started because of a judge in Seattle. He felt like he was hearing from the attorneys from the county. He was hearing from the attorneys for the parents. But he did not really have a sense of what the children were feeling. And so CASA LA is one of 944 CASA organizations throughout the nation. And 44 organizations here in California. And so we served approximately 820, children last fiscal year However, there are over 17,000 children in the foster care system. Oh my goodness. Goodness. And so that's what we need, volunteers. Yeah. We need people to step up so that more children, their voices are heard so that they can thrive. Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. Child and is it just one-on-one So do the volunteers pair up specifically with an individual foster? Yeah. or do they have- It's pretty much one-on-one, a referral is made to the judge on the case and then the judge says yes they want a CASA and they refer it to the office and then the office matches a volunteer, With a child. So what specifically do they do? I mean, I can't even imagine these children so young and they're all by themselves and just going through a court system or going through this- Which is so complex and overwhelming. It's really complex. I guess, as a volunteer, the first thing I do, of course, is meet the child because that's the most important relationship. But then one of the great things about CASA is that we talk to everybody who's involved in the child's life. Extended family, family, teachers, all the medical personnel that are involved. I sometimes think of myself as a hub on a wheel, talking to everybody else. And then I'm able to bring all that information to the court in a written report. So you're like a liaison, right, between the foster child, the families, and anybody else who might be involved, and then the court system. Right, right, yes, that's an interesting way of putting it, yeah. And one of the great things about being a CASA volunteer is that you have input into the decisions that are being made for the child, which is kind of unique. In a volunteer opportunity, and then once the judge makes orders, then we're the squeaky wheel making sure all those things happen for the child. I mean, it seems sort of time-consuming. If someone has a full-time job and doing this as a volunteer, if anybody's ever been to court before, you know how long even that would just take. So these are like super dedicated volunteers. People that, yeah, go ahead. No, I was going to say, absolutely. It's approximately a minimum of 10 hours a month of volunteering, depending on if you have a court hearing or things like that. But they are definitely. There's a lot of really dedicated volunteers who show up and stand alongside of the children in foster care. But there are a lot of people who work full time who do it. Yes. Wow. For sure. Super heroes. And it's interesting, the court dates are not really flexible. But there are a lot of other meetings and things that you have to do that are flexible. Like when my son was young, I would try to visit my kids. And I mean, sometimes I had to get a babysitter for my own child, you know, but you can make appointments if you're working some of it, not all of it. What are some of the reactions you've gotten from these kids when they see you for the first time? They must be like, thank goodness I have an advocate for me. It varies. The young ones are always really excited to have somebody to, you know, I'll take them to a park or someplace that's comfortable to talk to them. The older ones have been let down a lot by people, so they're usually pretty resistant at the beginning until they start to see that you are always going to show up when you said you were going to show up. Consistency and stability, and that you're there for the long term. I would imagine it's equal parts. You have to kind of know how to navigate the court system, right, and the families involved, and then also emotionality, because you're talking about a group of children who probably don't have that much trust. In a lot of people, and so you as an advocate have to work to build that trust again, which is a tough thing to do. Right, right, but it comes around almost always. I mean, some of the older teens on panels, they'll say, at first it's like, what do you think that woman's gonna do for me? And then it's like, that woman changed my life, you know? So what kind of training do you give these volunteers, I mean, do you, you've got to educate because if I was gonna go into it, I don't even know if I would know what to do. No, so there's a pre-service training of 30 hours. Mm-hm. And then there are continuing CEUs, and so we have attorneys that come in and speak. We have current volunteers that come in and speak, and so we talk to them and train them on the court report about how children get into the foster care system, the WIC code, what the process looks like. Right. We also have an opportunity to come to Edelman's Court or the court in Lancaster and do a court observation and see what the court looks like and how the proceedings and things go. And they're actually assigned an advocate supervisor. So, we have about 40 advocate supervisors that support our volunteers through the process. So, if they ever get stuck or need to have a question or need some support, they have someone that they can, the volunteers have someone that they can go to so that they can help move the things necessary for the children forward. Right. I give this organization a lot of credit because, you know, like you were saying. There's not a lot of trust there in some people. You have to work to build that trust up. And then you're dealing with a population who doesn't feel like anybody's really on their side. And here is this group of people who are saying, I'm going to fight for you. I'm going to be that advocate for you in a very complex and overwhelming court system. You've been doing this for how many years? Forty years. I'm sure you've seen it make a difference in a lot of children's lives, right? I hope so. What's the biggest, you know, anecdote that might come to your mind? Well, I've had, I would say, you know, it's like it's, I've had cases. This is where I've really made a giant difference. I had this miraculous case at the beginning of my CASA career where a little boy was abandoned at a hospital here. And I ended up, this is before internet, I ended up finding his grandmother in Philadelphia. And it was miraculous, actually. And they were reunited on Christmas Eve. I mean, it couldn't have been a more incredible thing. I've also had cases where I do smaller things, like in finding the right school environment for a child to be in. I mean, that can be a huge difference. That's its own challenge. And so it's not- Big, like reuniting a grandmother and a grandson, but it makes a huge difference. We only have like a minute left, but you can tell us about the big event, because to help out CASA LA, what do people need to know? So this Sunday, we are having Art and Wine, where the pop art icon Rob Pryor will be painting live. And so you can find more information at casala.org. All the funds raised will continue to allow CASA LA to provide resources and supports and advocates to children in the foster care system. Oh, it's a big one. wine event and an art show. Again, it's happening this Sunday. As she said, for more information, we've got a QR code that's going to be on your screen right there so you can have some fun, look at some great art, and also help a wonderful cause. 100% of the proceeds go directly to Casa LA. That's right. Scan that QR code, and for more about the mission and the work, go to casala.org. Thank you. Thank you, ladies, so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.