The Juvenile Court Experience

On October 27^th, 2011, I testified for my first CASA case. I took the stand and spoke for about ten minutes, going through the major points in my court report and disclosing information from conversations I had with both parties and the children. The judge was very receptive and thorough while he thumbed through each page of my court report. He took time at the beginning of the hearing to become educated enough on the case to make an informed recommendation. He listened to each testimony very closely. He asked questions of both parties in the custody battle. The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) caseworker also took the stand.

The DCS caseworker had a different recommendation than I had made with the help of my CASA advisor, Steve Moorman. Steve and I had chosen not to make a recommendation, that is, not recommend that the children stay with the current guardian or go with the guardian who filed the petition, the biological mother. The DCS caseworker had recommended that the children go with the biological mother. The judge decided that the children should remain with the current guardians. This was interesting to me, since the current guardians were the ones accused of severe corporal punishment which was borderline child abuse. Steve informed me that this judge follows the law very closely and, unlike most other juvenile court judges, does not have the ultimate goals of reuniting children with their biological parents.

The culture of juvenile court is very professional and extremely serious. There are an abundance of security officers and the judges and magistrates are not social. While I was there from 9am to noon, I saw a couple of men being escorted in handcuffs. The DCS caseworkers are friendly with CASA coordinators and volunteers but everyone else seems to keep to themselves. This is not surprising; determining the custody of a child is serious and cannot be taken lightly. The tension is high in the hallway outside of each courtroom. Will I get my children back? Have my actions been wrong? Have my actions been illegal? These are just a few questions pounding in guardians and potential guardians’ minds.

My next case was assigned on Monday, October 31, 2011. As mentioned in a previous blog post, CASA is a national organization; therefore, CASAs in different cities often work together on certain cases. The case I am taking on began in another city. I will be following up for that city’s CASA volunteer since he/she will be too far away to conduct a home visit or see how the child is doing with his/her new living situation. I love this about CASA. All CASAs regardless of where they are have one important goal: To find a safe living environment for all children that have been abused or neglected in which to reside until they are eighteen years old. If each CASA can achieve this for every child they represent, then the volunteer and the organization have fulfilled their duty.