Originally aired April 13, 2001

When most of us hear the word “casa,” we think of the Spanish word for house. CASA means something else for hundreds of Nebraska children, though. Like a house, this CASA provides some protection.

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASA volunteers look out for the interests of children in the court system because of abuse or neglect. At any one time there are about 5,000 such children in Nebraska. But only a fraction get help from CASA volunteers because there simply aren’t enough to go around, even though there are 20 CASA programs that serve 30 Nebraska counties.

“Statewide’s” Brad Penner looked into the program to learn more about how it works.

TRANSCRIPT - CASA

Reported by Statewide correspondent, Brad Penner

Brad Penner:Sometimes extraordinary things happen on ordinary days. On a day like that, Karen Horn learned about the court appointed special advocate program, known as Casa.
Karen Horn:"I was watching the Today Show about five years ago, and they had a piece on the Casa program. And I was intrigued by it. It was a really neat story in that it was about a mom who had a problem with alcohol and could not take care of her daughter."
Brad Penner:A story like that, even a good story, is often forgotten. But Karen couldn’t forget.
Karen Horn:"For about a year I kept thinking about it. And I just kept feeling the need to contribute somehow in a meaningful way. And I kept remembering that story."
Brad Penner:About that time, a single teen-aged mom named Teresa Chesler was about to enter the court system. Her daughter Breanna was about a year old. After Breanna was born, Teresa moved in with her boyfriend’s mother.
Teresa Chesler:"She took me in and I lived there and everything was fine with me and my mother. And then just one day it wasn’t fine anymore. She just didn’t like where I lived and… so she decided to take action on it."
Brad Penner:Teresa moved back in with her mom, even though she didn’t want to.
Teresa Chesler:"You know, my Mom’s a great person when we’re not living together. We’re just not… a good person living together. Or just… we argue a lot and we had a lot of problems."
Brad Penner:While Teresa struggled with her life, Karen Horn struggled with a decision.
Karen Horn:"It took some time to decide because it isn’t a… volunteer project that you can take lightly. And that’s what I liked about it. It was something that was very challenging that I knew I would learn a lot. But I also knew that I couldn’t just get tired of it and not go. I needed to be totally committed to it."
Brad Pace:Karen’s first assignment? A girl named Teresa Chesler.
Karen Horn:"Judge O’Neal assigned me to the case and that was in March of 1997."
And so I went to visit with her the first time and I was also the Casa for her daughter, Breanna, so I was there to make sure that both girls were okay and had what they needed."
Teresa Chesler:"You go through some hard stages where… oh I don’t trust anybody. And at first I didn’t trust any of the court system. And then once I realized she was on my side and no one else’s, then I realized that I had it made and that she’d help me through anything regardless of what it was."
Karen Horn:"When something went wrong she called. And I was just that one person, I think, that she was comfortable with. That she would say, I need to see my Gramma. Or something’s going on with my mom, I need to talk about this. She felt very comfortable in calling and we worked through all those things together."
Brad Penner:According to Voices for Children, in 1999 Nebraska courts ordered nearly 5,000 kids into the care of the state because of abuse or neglect. That year, Casa volunteers helped about 650 children. In 2000 the program served 875 kids.
Paige Beard:"So that’s a large number and we’re really excited about that. But it’s just… not even twenty percent of the kids that are in the court system. And so we could definitely use more volunteers.
Brad Penner:State Casa director Paige Beard says a Casa volunteer picks up where an overloaded system leaves off.
Paige Beard:"You have case managers who are handling the large caseloads of thirty to forty cases with a lot of children involved. So the time that they can spend with each individual child is pretty minimal."
Brad Penner:Mark Bryant is a State Health and Human Services caseworker in Sarpy County.
Mark Bryant:"You know, the case load sizes we have its real tough for us to get out and see the families as often as we’d like and have the individual time with the kids. And the Casa has the benefit of being able to do that. I mean, to be able to go out to the home, get the kids out. Talk to them one on one a lot of times."
Judge Robert O’Neal:"Well, Ideally I think we’d like to have Casas for every abuse and neglect case that we have on our docket."
Brad Penner:Sarpy County Judge Robert O’Neal must carefully choose how to use a limited number of Casa volunteers.
Judge Robert O’Neal:"I really like to use Casas for the most difficult of those abuse and neglect cases in which we have a very high level of family disfunction and kids who really have a large number of needs. They can really give me a lot of help and insight into what’s going on in a particular case. And I think that’s very, very helpful."
Judge Larry Gendler:"What we have seen is more complicated cases come in. Not necessarily greater numbers but the cases that we’re getting have bigger problems. So from that vantagepoint, more Casas I think would be more helpful".
Brad Penner:Sarpy County Casa Coordinator Georgie Scurfield says a Casa volunteer puts the needs of the children they serve first. They attend court proceedings and stand up for the best interests of their child. But that’s just the beginning.
Georgie Scurfield:"A volunteer will be looking at what the children need in the way of an educational assessment. Or whether they perhaps need some therapy. Whether they are getting visits with their parents. Whether they need to see grandparents or brothers and sisters. But the Casa volunteer will also be finding out whether that child has their favorite pair of slippers, their In-Sync poster, their blanky, their band uniform for the high school performance. Or whatever it is that keeps that childhood on track for those children."
Brad Penner:Karen Horn found out early in her Casa career that she may need to answer the phone at any time. Teresa made a late night call for help. Karen’s response strengthened their relationship.
Karen Horn:"The baby was not well… not seriously ill but not well. And I received a phone call very late at night. And both were drying. And so we did have a late night visit. And in order to try to calm both of them down and get the situation under control. I think that that’s something that kind of bound she and I together because she knew that she could call and that I would be there."
Teresa Chesler:"She just didn’t know what was wrong with Breanna. She wanted to make sure everything was okay. So she brought over everything and… God, I loved her so much after that because then I realized. My Mom wouldn’t do that but she would. So that was a good… God, I remember that like that was yesterday."
Georgie Scurfield:"There are many of our kids who don’t have any sense that they have a reason to respect adults. That adults have been the main betrayers in their life; have hurt them, have failed to protect them, or have simply been rather absent and distant".
Brad Penner:Casa volunteers must often break through a child’s mistrust, and their own fear.
Georgie Scurfield:"I’ve had volunteers who’ve come right at the beginning and said, I don’t know if I can do this. It’s going to be too painful. And what I try to say is, it’s important to remember that you’re not living this child’s life, the child is. And you can ease their pain and make things much more simple and more straightforward and more safe for them. And it’s not you who’s actually going to be doing the hurting, it’s the child. And you’ll hurt on their behalf."
Brad Penner:Karen Horn worked to learn all she could about Teresa’s situation. After a few weeks, Teresa returned to live with her boyfriend’s mother. Karen continued to work on Teresa’s case until she turned eighteen.
Teresa’s engaged to marry Breanna’s father. She has a new job, and hopes to go back to college. She’s happy, and she gives a lot of credit to her friend Karen.
Teresa Chesler:"I hated to disappoint her. When grades weren’t good, she kinda looked down on me and I hated that. So I wanted my grades up. I wanted them so high and… Oh, she was like my second mom figure. With Karen, she made me realize how to love. How to love my daughter, how to do all these things because I didn’t really get that much as a child. So without her I don’t think I would be such a good mom as I am now. Because she taught me how to do things that I couldn’t. How to support and… she did so many things for me. I don’t think I be a very nice person without her."