Become an advocate for a child in foster care

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Every day, abused and neglected children in Oregon are removed from their homes and placed in foster care because their parents are unable to care for them. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are a special kind of volunteer.Court-appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteers advocate for the best-interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Volunteers work with child welfare professionals, educators and service providers to ensure that judges have the information they need to make the most well-informed decisions for each child. CASA of Clackamas County has 142 active volunteers serving 258 children in foster care.

CASAs are ordinary people. Men and women, executives, retirees, busy professionals, who give their time and their hearts to make an extraordinary difference for some of our community's most vulnerable children. As a CASA volunteer, you will get to know the child for whom you are advocating, and become their voice in court. You will investigate and gather information, advocate for the child, make recommendations to the Court, and monitor the progress of the case. The information you gather and your recommendations help the Court make informed decisions.

This volunteer opportunity can be done mostly remotely. CASA of Clackamas County will provide all of the training you need to be a powerful voice for the child's best interest. You will also report to a CASA Manager, who will help you with matters related to the case and guide you along the way. A CASA volunteer typically spends 10-20 hours per month on their case.

Responsibilities:

Investigate Thoroughly and conscientiously investigates all of the relevant facts of the situation. Speaks to the various parties involved in the child’s life to gather information and identify their needs.

Advocate Ensures that the relevant facts of the situation are presented to the court. Reports to the court and makes recommendations in the child’s best interests.

Facilitate Promotes collaboration among relevant parties in the case. Encourages appropriate service delivery in meeting the child’s needs. Expedites the placement of the child in a safe permanent home.

Monitor Observes the welfare and wellbeing of the child outside of the legal proceedings happening within the court system. Watches to ensure compliance to court orders by all parties. Brings to the court’s attention any change in circumstances that may require modification of the court order.

Qualifications:

• Passionately dedicated to helping children who have been abused or neglected during their most dire times of need.
• Able to maintain compassion, perspective, and objectivity in an emotionally charged situation.
• Capable of adhering to time commitments for training and seeing a case through to the final resolution. This includes attending court proceedings and maintaining communication with relevant parties involved in the case, including your CASA Supervisor.
• Proficient in interacting with individuals in a cooperative fashion using tact and positive human relations skills.
• Skilled at maintaining strict confidentiality.
• Cognizant of timelines and able to meet deadlines for matters such as reports.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to maintain current and complete files on each assigned case. Ability to accurately communicate a child’s status to the presiding judge.

Requirements:

• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Successfully complete background checks.
• You may not be a current foster parent or be in the process of adopting a child from DHS.
• Satisfactory completion of initial and on-going training requirements.
• Maintain strict adherence to program policies, guidelines, CASA’s role, and ethics standard.