Nakesha Womble: Changing Lives, One Child at a Time: The Impact of CASA Volunteers

CASA
In this episode, Nikesha Womble discusses the work of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in the foster care system. 

CASA volunteers are community members who provide consistent support to children in foster care, helping them find permanent, safe homes. They work with various individuals involved in a child's life, including foster parents, biological families, and the court system. 

CASA volunteers undergo training and are assigned to one child or a sibling group. 

The impact of CASA can be life-changing, as they advocate for the best interests of the children and build meaningful relationships with them. 

The episode also emphasizes the need for more foster families and encourages listeners to consider volunteering with CASA.

Subscribe to the Women of the Northwest podcast for inspiring stories and adventures.
Find me on my website: jan-johnson.com

Transcript

[00:01] Jan: Are you looking for an inspiring listen, something to motivate you? You've come to the right place. Welcome to Women of the Northwest, where we have conversations with ordinary women leading extraordinary lives. Motivating, inspiring, compelling. Hello, listeners. I am here with Nikesha Womble. We're going to talk about CaSA, and if you don't know what that is, you're in for a fun talk, a fun listen. Welcome, Nikesha.

[00:31] Nakesha: Hey, Jan, thanks for having me.

[00:32] Jan: Yeah. So, casa. What's that even stand for?

[00:35] Nakesha: All right, Casa. So we are part of a national model. The acronym CASA stands for court appointed special advocates, and we are state mandated programs who train and recruit community volunteers to walk alongside children who are experiencing foster care. And so primary parts of our mission include helping these children find permanency in a safe home, if possible, to safely reunify with their families who may be experiencing addiction or domestic violence, mental health crises. But if that can't happen within a reasonable amount of time, then we help the court to make decisions to find them their forever home in a safe place, ideally, you know, in less than several years, which, sadly, is kind of the state of our foster care system. And then more especially, we're the only part of the child welfare system who can appoint one volunteer to one child at a time. So many kids who experience foster care will report having several caseworkers or, you know, maybe different judges, maybe being bounced around to different homes. And so it gives a consistent adult in their life to get to know them, to know their likes, their dislikes, to help them, to advocate for them. And so, you know, very often these relationships that our volunteers establish will last even after a child finds a home or even ages out. You know, we have volunteers who have went to weddings and, you know, college graduations. And so it's a real special treat, you know, and privilege to get. To get to do that.

[02:13] Jan: And so you work with the foster parents as well.

[02:18] Nakesha: And, yeah, so we basically, because we have a state statute, we are really positioned uniquely compared to other parties. So the people that ACASA volunteer will work with includes a range of individuals. So that'll be the child's teachers, potentially doctors, pediatricians, their caseworkers. Kids in Oregon, all are appointed their own attorney. So we'll work with the children's attorney to make sure their needs are being met, and then that also includes the child's resource or foster family, their biological family, when it's safe and reasonable to have that contact, and then also, you know, maybe extended family. So sometimes casas are the ones to find biological connections that have been missed by other people. Or maybe children have came from such a range of generational, you know, poverty or dysfunction that they don't know about aunts or uncles or cousins that they might have. And so we have the privilege to be able to really reach out and contact anyone that might be within that child's sphere of influence.

[03:21] Jan: What has Ben's results that you've seen with some of the kids?

[03:25] Nakesha: Oh, man, I've seen so many over the years. So just a few highlights. We many years ago had a young little man who came into the system, and he was deaf. He could not hear. So lots of behaviors kind of hard to place because he was limited in communication and hadn't had consistent medical care. So it really took some time to work with his team to get a diagnosis to see what benefits would help him achieve educational goals or to make progress in life. And so we paired him with a group of foster dads who, one worked at an ASL school in a different state for a limited amount of time. So they were able to teach this little one sign language very quickly. He just began to communicate in so many ways. Then they took it upon themselves. So, you know, the casto worked with them and definitely encouraged them and, you know, kind of did some missing piece work, but this was really that family that kind of makes all the difference. And so they reached out, they found other biological family members. They started hosting playdates. By the end of the case, they actually moved to a different state to be closer to a school for the deaf. And they went on to be able to fund and get the child to implants in his ears to where he'd be able to hear some sound. You know, that was a really special case, to just see a child who by all means, you know, the system perceived as not being able to overcome, but that right family, the right amount of love, you know, made him an overcomer. And so you. You know, those types of stories are really the heart of our cases, because family is so important and love is so important. And a lot of times, consistency of those two things is the best determinant to break, you know, those bondages or some of the outcomes. We hear about foster kids, you know, dropping out of school or ending up homeless or ending up addicted to drugs. That is a group of those youth, but that's not all of them, you know, and thankfully, being in the work that I'm in, I get to see the really happy side of foster care that sometimes we don't get to talk about or share in.

[05:33] Jan: That's kind of the role of the Casa. Do they kind of pick how often they're with their kids or what they do, or do you have a specific kind of groundwork?

[05:44] Nakesha: Yeah, so we are pretty specific. We do trainings two to three times a year. So before a Casa gets a case or even comes on board, we go ahead and do what kind of a pre interview with them to see what do they know about Casa? You know, what are their experiences? Is this going to be safe for them to do? You know, often those of us that have been through trauma are kind of attracted to this work. Sometimes that's a great fit and a skill, but sometimes it's also not healthy for us. So we really want our volunteers to know, you know, kind of what they're getting into and what the expectation is. They'll go through about 40 hours of training, and then at the end of training, we'll do an exit interview just to kind of square up and make sure, you know, that what they've heard makes sense to them, that they can digest it, and that there are things that are hard. So in a lot of states, there's the minimally sufficient law. So parents may be able to get sober and healthy, but not every child will end up in a fabulous home with a picket fence. And so we just want to be real with our volunteers, who often come from very different walks of life about the type of cases that they could potentially see. And then we'll kind of ask them, you know, we'll try to pair a casa with a child to match, you know, maybe skill sets they have. So if it's a child with an IEP or, you know, who needs educational supports, if we have someone who has a past teaching experience, you know, that might make sense, someone who's drawn to teenagers or can bond with them, you know, try to pair them with a teenager. You know, for my program, we. We really try hard not to just give a casa, to give acase. We try to really match an adult with a child who's going to benefit that youth, be a good connection for them, and will really be able to advocate for their best interests. And so they have some say in that. So it's kind of an ongoing conversation. We usually only ask a Casa to take one case at a time. So that can be with one child or it can be a sibling group. So some Casas might have one case, but they're advocating for five different children. Some Casas will find that they're retired and they have more time. So maybe they'll have two cases at one time. And so we do have a lot of freedom in that. And so we can take all kinds of volunteers from different walks of life, and then we even have a set of volunteers who can help out at the office or help out with community events. You know, for some people, most of our volunteers report that they spend about 10 hours a month with their Casa child. We do require for you to visit at least once every 30 days, but we really love when you visit more. You know, we have some casas who visit weekly, some bi weekly, some who will do a monthly home visit and then maybe do a school lunch or a, you know, a treat or a visit type of thing.

[08:17] Jan: Go to a school event or something.

[08:19] Nakesha: Yeah, school events. Our Casas love going to band, you know, band dates. And anytime our kids are in sports, that's always a real joy to get to go see them do something that they love. And so, you know, one of the most special things about casas and for our program is that these kids aren't just a file or a case number. They're real humans. You know, they're individuals. And despite what they've been through, we know that doesn't define them. And so we push them forward and encourage them and let them know, like you, you're your own person. These things don't define you. You can go on and accomplish really great things. And so we try to match the volunteers kind of with all of those things in mind.

[08:56] Jan: What do the kids say about the having causes?

[08:59] Nakesha: Oh, you know, that's a. We get a wide range of answers there, and, you know, so our littlest kids, you know, they love their casas. A lot of them kind of will look to their casas and aunt or uncle. A lot of our classes are retired, so they'll kind of be more of the grandparent role. And then, I'll be honest, you know, we have a lot of teenagers, so, you know, whereas a child's attorney will advocate for what their client wants, we don't always agree with what the child may want for themselves. And so, you know, they may want to be able to sleep on their friend's couch for three weeks, but we know that's not in their best interest. So sometimes with the teenagers, they'll be like, yeah, I don't really want a casa, but I'm glad you're here. You know, so they usually end up coming around, but it kind of gets interesting with the older kids. Yeah.

[09:43] Jan: How many foster families are there in the county?

[09:47] Nakesha: You know, we, after the pandemic, we definitely saw a change in how many families was available or able to step up due to their own life circumstances. So we are at probably less than ten families, I would say we have. One of our biggest challenges in giving each child their own volunteer is that we have so many kids placed outside of our county, and so we have a big chunk of children who are a couple hours away from us, which makes it hard geographically to give them a consistent adult. And so, you know, anyone listening, if you've ever been interested in being a foster parent, now is definitely the time. You know, reach out to DHS, take the class. There's no commitment. You can take the class and think about it, but our kids really need these families. You know, I love Casa and I love my volunteers, but I think the real heroes are the foster families. You know, the ones that are there consoling in the middle of the night, and they're putting pieces back together that's been broken and scattered. They're loving on these babies, and often they end up becoming the long term resource, too. You know, not all the time, but often, you know, their hearts just grow three times bigger and they just fall in love. And so. Or, you know, there'll be a real support for that bio family when that family's reunited. Many of our foster families will even be like extended family going forward, which is beautiful, and I think, really best case scenario when we can build that social circle for these families and give them healthy relationships, you know?

[11:11] Jan: Yeah. Yeah. So anybody could try and volunteer, right? To.

[11:17] Nakesha: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So we volunteered. Yeah. Our classes are open to everybody. You know, it's a good chance to be educated on kind of the issues that bring children into foster care in the first place. It's a good way to know more, you know, here in Clatsop county, kind of what are kids experiencing? What are families experiencing? What type, what type of demographics do we serve and why? Those are all really great things. To officially be sworn in, you do have to be 21 and then be able to complete the training. And then we do, of course, criminal checks, background checks. You know, being that you work with such a vulnerable population, we're pretty, you know, stringent there about how we certify you. But if you do make it through the training and everything checks out and you think it's a good fit, and we think it's a good fit, then you'll be sworn in by a circuit court judge, and you'll take your oath. You'll become an official mandated reporter with a legal obligation to report suspected child abuse or neglect, and then you will be open to maybe taking your first case. And we have many volunteers that swear in and maybe want to take time before they get the first case. And then we have volunteers that kind of hit the ground running. So, you know, we always encourage anyone that's interested, just take the training, and then we can go from there, because ultimately, we also want to educate the community, too. So it's never a loss to us. We always love to see a big training class. Yeah, yeah.

[12:34] Jan: And so the kids are infants through teenagers.

[12:38] Nakesha: Yeah. So we do birth all the way through, actually, age 21. And here in Oregon, they can advocate to even keep their case open to the age of 23. So, you know, many of our older youth, they'll access funds for college or scholarships, and then there's, you know, a great benefit to them to keeping their case open. Obviously, our role changes as they get older, you know, but we have a couple classes right now who have kids who are in college, out of state, and they maintain contact and they write home, and it's a beautiful way for that relationship to flourish in a different way. So, yeah, we really serve the whole gamut of children. I would say our greatest need for causes right now are probably the one to five years of age range. You know, with the fentanyl crisis, we also see a large number of children that are drug affected, which that can make its presence known earlier or later. You know, sometimes things don't show until development. So, you know, having volunteers to really visit and consistently be with these young ones who don't have a voice or can't advocate for themselves is really important. And so we, you know, try to pair them as often as possible, too.

[13:42] Jan: Yeah. What brought you into this field?

[13:45] Nakesha: So I was. I was made for the field, I suppose. I was physically abused and neglected by my parents, and then I was sexually abused by my father and then trafficked by my father and mother for several years, up until about the age of 13. And so I was in and out of the system. The court would appoint people to come and see me in my home, but everyone was so afraid of my father that no one really ever came in to actually see if I was safe or not. As I got older, I started thinking about the difference someone could have made in my life if they would have known me or been able to advocate for me. And so I just started looking for a way to give back. I went into therapy and really realized, like, wow, generational trauma can have a lifelong impact, and it takes real work and guidance and grace to work, to kind of get through that. And so I just wanted to do something with that experience. And I looked up volunteer roles, and CAsa was one of those. And so I started out as a volunteer, then within a few weeks or months, became office manager, program manager, and now I'm the director of the program. So, you know, like I said, I was kind of made for this work. And one of my biggest privileges is, you know, in. In this arena, there's, you know, most of the people that we work around are college educated or they come from a privileged background. It's a really special moment when I get to connect with a youth and be able to say, like, no, I get it. And, you know, I have a lot of tattoos. And so, you know, right from the get go, I'm just more relatable. And to see their defenses kind of come down and them to kind of breathe like, you know, like, I don't have to pretend to be someone different in front of this person, you know, it's really special, and it's just such an honor to get to do that. So, yeah. Yeah. I will probably be here for many years to come, hopefully. We hope so, too.

[15:29] Jan: Okay. Anything else to share?

[15:31] Nakesha: If you are interested in Clatsop Casa or in volunteering, even if you're not in Clatsop county, you can visit the National Casa website. And then for our program, you can visit www.clatsopcasa.org or give our office a phone call at 503-38-6063 we're always training and we're always keeping a list of potential volunteers, so now is the perfect time to reach out.

[15:57] Jan: Okay, I'll put links to that in the show notes.

[15:59] Nakesha: Thanks, Jan.

[16:00] Jan: Thanks, Ankita. Thanks so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Maybe this is a season in your life when you have time on your hands and you're looking to make a difference. Casa just might be what you're looking for. Feel free to share this episode with a friend or family member. I look forward to being in your car, on your walk, or while you're working around the house. Hey, I'm always looking for new people to interview. If you think you have a story or would be a good fit or if you know someone, shoot me a message on my website, jansson.com. All right, till next time. See you later.