When a child is a victim of abuse or neglect and the state gets involved, they need someone to support them, to guide them through trials and meetings with lawyers and judges.
They also need a friend, a positive adult to advocate for their interests, give them quality time and let them be who they are – children.
This advocate is a volunteer with Connecticut CASA — Special Court Appointed Advocates, who provide their services to the youngest and most vulnerable populations in the court system. Connecticut’s CASA agency trains its volunteers and supervises them to report independent, impartial information to the courts in child abuse and neglect cases.
‘Best interests of the child’
Harriet “Kyn” Tolson, a CASA advocate who began her training in 2020, has worked on foster care and protective oversight cases, particularly with children. Recently, she worked on multiple sibling cases that included younger children in foster care.
Tolson, an East Haddam resident, retired journalist and former executive director of the literacy non-profit Read to Grow, said he met CT CASA Executive Director Josiah Brown before retiring.
“When I retired, he started his job at CASA,” says Tolson. “Sounds very interesting. When I was working in journalism, I covered court at one point, but not juvenile court. I retired in January 2020, coincidentally just before (the COVID-19 pandemic) and joined (a) training group.”
Tolson says he tries to be objective when working on a case, while always keeping the best interests of the child in mind. But it’s not easy.
“I felt that the work would be an attempt to try and present an objective account of what happened in a case,” he said. “But every case involves a child or youth, and what I hold for is that my work is meant to be in the best interests of the child. … That’s something I have to think about more deeply. I really have to think about what the ‘best interests’ are . That’s subjective.”
CASA volunteer supporters visit their child’s case regularly to assess their well-being, contact teachers, care providers and the child’s biological parents, arrange for any needed services for the child, and submit a report to the court, with recommendations. These reports help guide a child’s path to a healthy and happy home life.
Recently, CASA expanded its services to include the Torrington family courts, which are already available in New Haven and Waterbury.
A young lawyer
Torrington native Eric Krupa, a CASA volunteer and an attorney, joined the volunteer program in 2021. Krupa, who now lives in Portland, works for the CT Legal Rights Project, which helps people with mental health conditions by providing legal services.
“I had heard about CASA when I was working in Maine where I was with a legal services organization that did family law work,” says Krupa. “I’m generally familiar with CASA, and when I moved back to Connecticut, I wanted to be involved with a volunteer organization.
“I came to learn about child protective services,” he said. “Nearly every case has been around abuse or neglect, and DCF (state’s Department of Family Services) has opened cases.
“Sometimes there are concerns that (voluntary defenders) are just another part of the system,” said Krupa. “But once a family hears that we are volunteers, and is working with them in the best interests of the child, they see us differently. In many cases, there are years of engagement (with families and) DCF, and there is a kind of general distrust, based on experience. their past.”
Since he started with CASA, Krupa has handled one case, and the results were satisfactory, he said. The case involved a child who lived under protective custody with one parent, before moving to live with the other parent in another city.
“The child was transferred to another school, and did very well in the new school system and their home environment,” he said.
Counseling and other assistance is provided as needed, Krupa said, based on what the child or youth has experienced as a result of abuse or neglect.
“Our role is to look to any areas where we can help,” he said. “That could mean finding counseling services, extra-curricular activities; it could also be talking to staff at the school, or a doctor or pediatric therapist. Our main job is to keep the courts up to date on what’s going on, but also maintain a relationship with the child, and make important connections for children.”
For Krupa, helping a boy or girl in need gives him a sense of fulfillment.
“It feels really good to develop a relationship with a child and really help them,” she says. “A lot of times, children are completely neglected, and giving help… It feels so important.”
Volunteers work with legal, social and care services providers, focused on finding or maintaining safe, stable and permanent homes for children within the child welfare system. Tolson said judges ask for CASA volunteers when a child’s case is complicated and requires more involvement.
“Maybe the cases are complicated, or the wheels are turning, or there are lots of conflicts,” he said. “So the judge says, ‘I want someone to go to court’ for whatever reason, and the CASA advocates write about what they saw happen, what they know is going on and what steps should be taken, based on their work with the child. “
Share life experiences
Dwayne Jackson of Meriden who joined CASA in 2020 has handled four cases with a total of eight children. Her work with nonprofits led her to a meeting with the former CEO of CASA, who invited her to join the board of directors. But Jackson was intrigued by the organization’s work, and decided he could do more as an advocate than as a board member.
“Serving on a board can be fulfilling and rewarding, but nothing is more fulfilling than providing influence and support, one at a time,” she says, referring to the children she works with, and their understanding of her role as an advocate.
“Their reactions and responses depend on age,” he says. “Out of eight children, four are between the ages of 10 and 12. That age group, in general, tends to open up and (relate) fairly quickly. They have no sense of wariness or distrust; they respond to how you present yourself to them. It’s very helped, to see where they were. So I went to them and they put out a game, showed me their art; one of them was playing the trombone. So being involved in what they’re doing makes a difference.”
One of the kids was 15 years old, and “really alone,” Jackson said. “I have two kids, and they’re all grown up now. But I know teenagers tend to be like that. The other kid is 3, and all he wants to do is make me rock him.”
No one knows what kind of response a volunteer advocate will get when they meet their young person for the first time. The work can be challenging and even disturbing. But, Jackson said, success kept him a CASA volunteer, because of the satisfaction he sometimes received.
“One thing I feel is that every now and then, I will get a glimmer, that they accept what I tell them,” he said. “One of my cases has been resolved for a year now, and I continue to see the kids; not at the same frequency once a month, but every month or so now. This is a non-CASA relationship.
“The other thing is, in some small way I contributed to society, with my education and life experiences,” said Jackson, who retired from a corporate career. He did so by creating presentations explaining the CASA program to groups including DCF employees, assistant attorney generals, and panel attorneys for children and parents. She has also been a panelist for the final sessions of several volunteer training programs for advocates, and has appeared several times on the agency’s YouTube channel.
Watching CASA grow
Brown, CASA’s executive director, is a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Justice for Abused Children. He works in education, “in the field of university school partnerships,” he says.
“In the spring of 2019 I was invited to start a CASA program in southern Connecticut,” he says. “At that time there were four administrators who were all CASA staff and none were local. It was a startup activity, and I enjoyed the challenge of learning along the way. I attended the training, and did the first batch. volunteer training. Now, we have a small team of professionals working with volunteers.”
Brown recruited more volunteers, and in 2021 his agency merged with two other CASA organizations in Connecticut.
“Since then, we’ve become one organization, continuing to grow statewide,” he said. “Things happen during a pandemic, which creates challenges and difficulties, and we surpass them.”
He is always looking for new supporters, of all ages and abilities.
“It’s a distinctive role, because even though it’s voluntary, it’s a very professional role,” he said. “This requires a voluntary advocate acting in a highly professional way, not only to be compassionate with a child… but to work collaboratively with courts, social workers, lawyers, and then to report in a coherent manner a case in the best interests of the child.
“When I say it’s a professional role, but no special professional training is required, that’s something to consider,” says Brown. “We are very inclusive and we have adults from their 20s to their 70s. Don’t feel that your training or professional background or lack thereof is going to exclude you.
“When our volunteers are appointed as advocates, they become part of that team,” he said. “This is a higher standard of proof, and a much more protracted process…. The role of the advocate is meant to complement, not replace, the work of these social workers and lawyers.”
A voluntary advocate must be willing to commit to working on a case for 18 months or more. Attorney Tricia Goldburn of New Haven has been involved in the same case, with multiple children, for more than two years. She has helped children with school, summer programs, medical appointments, and helped reconnect them with their parents and extended parental families, Brown said.
Those interested in becoming a volunteer advocate can visit www.connecticutcasa.org.
