Towson Organization Speaks Out for Foster Children

When his mother died, the court sent Jimmy (not his real name) to live with his father. After six months, his father placed Jimmy into the foster care system. The boy was 14 years old and his only other family member was a brother, who soon died.

That's when Joan McGill, a real estate broker from Sparks, became Jimmy's anchor in life. McGill is one of about 150 volunteers in Baltimore County's court-appointed special advocate program, otherwise known as CASA. 

As Jimmy's court-appointed special advocate, McGill gave voice to the boy's needs and advocated for his best interests in court, and served as a mentor outside of the courtroom. 

"Since he was 14, I'm the only mother-type figure that he can count on," McGill said.

Jimmy went on to graduate from high school, and still keeps in touch with McGill.

CASA—not to be confused with the Latino legal aid organization that has the same acronym—began as a national movement in 1977 when a Seattle judge recognized that the number and complexities of cases involving abused and neglected children were overwhelming, even for caseworkers and lawyers.

The advocate program, through a network of local non-profit chapters, now serves nearly 1,000 children in 49 states. In Maryland, the state CASA association oversees 15 county offices, which receive funding from county and court system grants and through fundraising.

CASA's goal is "to see children get someone in their life who is not paid and to learn that there are responsible adults who show up and do what they say they're going to do," said Susan Daddio, executive director of CASA of Baltimore County.

Advocates come from all walks of life—real estate brokers, salespeople, even a few lawyers—and are drawn by the opportunity to make a difference in a child's life. And it isn't easy. Volunteers undergo a background check and spend 30 hours in training before the court can appoint them.

The advocates sometimes serve as mentors. The volunteers may be the closest thing to a stable family some of the foster children have, even if it's only for a few hours a month. Many advocates take the children to the zoo or park, but they are careful to make sure the children know where the boundaries are.

"We're not there to be taking them to the movies and ball games. We're there more to talk to them, help them with school and psychiatric reports than we are their buddy," said McGill, a volunteer since the county organization's infancy in 2001. "I think it's because it would be very easy for these children to totally get immersed in your life and want to live it and be every part of what you have, because it appears very stable."

Children assigned to advocates are often victims of neglect and many have been removed from a difficult situation at home, which can initially cause tension between parents and the advocate. 

"They don’t want another person coming in, another person looking over their shoulders," said Ed Kilcullen, the director for the state CASA organization, also based in Towson. "Once they learn about us, start working with the volunteers, that changes considerably." 

When it comes time to appear in front of a judge, the child's court-appointed lawyer—who may only have spoken to the child once—is ethically bound to follow the child's expressed wishes. However, what the child wants and and what's best for the child may not be the same thing. That's where a CASA steps in, providing the court with a report on the child's home situation, the child's needs and the advocate's opinion on what is best for the child.

"What appealed to me was it was so much more involved than a big sister, big brother type of volunteering, because we have access to all this information," said McGill. "What we recommend to that judge, the judge listens to that CASA and we really can change a child's life."

The same advocate follows a child through the legal system from start to finish, whether that means the child returns home or becomes old enough to leave foster care.

Baltimore County's foster care system serves about 580 children at any given moment, with 260 children entering and leaving the Department of Social Services each year, according to county statistics. According to Daddio, CASA served 199 children last fiscal year. The only thing the organization lacks is volunteers.

For Judith Schagrin, the assistant director of children's services in the county Department of Social Services, the CASAs are another set of eyes and ears, and another adult whom the child can count on.

"We'd love to have more CASAs," Schagrin said. While caseworkers and lawyers may have large workloads, she said, the volunteers can be focused on one child at a time. Schagrin spoke of one young California woman whom she mentors who went through the CASA program there. Her mentor helped her attend a California prep school, from which she graduated to attend George Washington University on a four-year scholarship.

"Not every child is going to form that kind of relationship," she said. "Not every youth is going make that kind of a change, but we want to offer our kids every opportunity because you just never know which one is going to grab the brass ring."