New Year's Resolutions for CASAs

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1. I will never make a promise I can't keep. This includes letting my youth know that I am a Mandated Reporter and that I will be assigned to him as long as he is a Dependent of the Court (unless I have to leave for personal reasons).

2. I will establish visits on a basis that I can sustain for an extended period of time.

3. I will have realistic expectations of my minor, which means that:

a. I will assume that a teen will develop more problems as she moves through adolescence;
b. I will define small goals and celebrate successes along the way;
c. I will acknowledge failures without judgment;
d. I will give support through disappointments;
e. I will remember that improvement is typically followed by a setback and that setbacks often set the stage for improvement.

4. I will be the person who "just shows up" even if I do not feel a strong emotional bond with my minor or don't feel appreciated by him.

5. I will seek input from my minor for our outings together.

6. If I feel rejected by my youth, I will talk to my CASA supervisor about it.

7. I will stick by my commitment for 18 months, the Dismissal of the case, or until I cannot continue due to changes in my own life.

8. I will handle the final stages of my relationship with my minor with thoughtfulness and respect, which will include:

a. Discussing the termination with my CASA Supervisor;
b. Helping prepare my youth for the loss;
c. Making sure that he does not feel responsible for the end of the relationship;
d. Working together with her to create a memory box or album of our relationship together and the things that have happened in her life during the time we've known each other;
e. Mutually planning a special outing for our final visit together.

These resolutions have been created after reading: Stand By Me: The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today's Youth, by Jean E. Rhodes (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Harvard University Press, 2002). Rhodes summarizes studies that explore the impact of mentorship relationships on youth. While SFCASA Volunteers are primarily advocates for children in the Dependency Court, they also play an important role as mentors. Certainly, CASA Volunteers help their youths in three areas that Rhodes says are especially important: 1) they enhance social skills and emotional well being by visiting regularly; 2) they improve cognitive skills through dialogue and active listening during the time that they are together; and 3) they serve as role models and advocates through their personal integrity and their activities within "the system."

Youth do best when the mentor's role includes all three of these areas. CASAs may be luckier than other mentors because they are by definition advocates and have a clearly structured role within the care-giving system and the Courts. Nevertheless, a CASA needs to establish an emotional bond with the youth before he or she can have personal impact. That is why CASAs take their kids on one-on-one outings as well as larger social activities, get involved with their academic activities, and get to know the other people that the child cares about.

While CASA Volunteers are fortunate in the structure of their role, they have some of the greatest challenges of any mentors. Studies suggest that children with histories of maltreatment have more trouble forming meaningful relationships than others. Conversely, kids whose parents want a mentor for them have better outcomes. CASA Volunteers are assigned without the consent of the parent, and all of our children have histories of maltreatment, often with emotional or behavioral difficulties that make them less able to form relationships. When a youth is over 14, the problems can be even greater, for adolescents are typically more interested in affiliating with peers than an adult assigned by the court and can give their would-be mentor a tough time, especially if he feels that the CASA is trying to lead him away from his family or community.

Rhodes reports that when youth had more contact with a mentor, had a more meaningful relationship with her, or stayed with her longer, the positive effects of the relationship on the youth were larger. She also reports that significant training for the mentors, structured activities for kids with their mentors, and monitoring of the relationship by staff all contribute to stronger effects on the kids.

At SFCASA, we try to provide the training, structure and support to help our Volunteers create and sustain meaningful relationships with kids while advocating for them in the Dependency Court, but the real work is done, one child at a time, by the work of dedicated Volunteers. It is the CASAs who have the courage to engage young people in meaningful relationships and to stand by them through the overwhelming challenges of the foster care system and the Dependency Court. For all our training and all our support, it comes down to the magic of the personal encounter between CASA and kid that makes the difference.

Happy New Year,
Libby