With over 30,000 youth in the foster care system annually, Los Angeles County has an urgent need for advocates to ensure that its cases receive necessary help with education, mental and physical wellbeing, and safe and stable placement.
Currently serving more than 1,238 foster youth, CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) of Los Angeles (CASA/LA) is seeking volunteers to answer this need.
“We recruit ordinary people to show up in an extraordinary way,” says Charity Chandler-Cole, Ed.D., chief executive officer of the nonprofit organization.
“Outside of being able to pass the background check and having a willingness to better understand the youth we’re serving and the system we’re operating in, we don’t need folks to have a specific skill set or background professionally, educationally, or otherwise.”
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CASA/LA volunteers are trained by the organization and assigned by judges to their cases; they are often the only consistent adult in foster youths’ lives who is not a paid professional. Alisa Smith, a volunteer who works in the entertainment field, was amazed by the team that supports each foster youth in L.A. County, from free legal counsel to pre-and post-natal support for teen mothers. However, she says that the individualized attention that CASA/LA provides is what sets it apart.
“If you’re deciding upon a nonprofit to volunteer with, why CASA stands out from others is the one-on-one advocacy,” she says. “That level of nurturing and mentorship, and that ability to see the impact quantified very palpably, is amazing.
Smith attends monthly in-person meetings with her assigned youth, a relationship that lasts two years. In addition, she attends court twice a year, to chart her case’s progress through the system and determine any new needs to be addressed.
“My role is being her advocate … and teaching through example, how to reach out for help,” says Smith. “What has been great is seeing her grow over these two years and being so much more comfortable with communicating her needs.”
Smith has gone above and beyond her role, even enlisting the “Random Acts of Helpfulness” campaign by SoCal Honda Dealers to acquire a refrigerator and $1,500 of groceries for her foster youth. While her case will graduate from the system in December, Smith has prepared lists of resources – including herself – that the young woman can call upon in the future.
Smith says that there is much that she admires in her young charge, who reconciled with her mother and even purchased a home.
“She’s very courageous, very resourceful,” she says. “My foster youth has no income, she goes to school full-time, but she has been able to arrange to pay the mortgage each month. I feel part of her resilience has come through our relationship because I’ve provided her with a secure attachment, to know that I am not going away, I am consistently there to help.”
Dr. Chandler-Cole, having been herself a former foster youth, a foster parent, and a relative caregiver, has added the role of volunteer to her duties as CEO, in order to, “… give back to a population of young people who oftentimes don’t have the one-on-one support, in order to be seen within a system that is overburdened and overwhelmed. I [took] a case to stay grounded with the work … look at barriers our volunteers may be presented with, and better opportunities to support our youth and our volunteers.”
Dr. Chandler-Cole underscores the need for CASA/LA volunteers from the local community.
“The role of CASA sounds like a big job,” she says. “It can deter people from thinking that they’re qualified or worthy to do this role. We put an emphasis on making sure the community knows we welcome everyone … especially people with lived experience, to show up as volunteers. We want to see more people that are reflective of the communities we’re serving.”
To learn more about CASA/LA and opportunities to advocate for youth in Los Angeles County, visit casala.org/volunteer.
