Working with Teens

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Twenty percent of SFCASA volunteers are assigned to youth between the ages of 15 and 19. That means that about twenty percent of you are actively trying to help teens cope.

Most teenagers feel very strongly that they should be able to do what they think is right for themselves. They may want to drop out of school, have a baby, join a gang, or engage in other high-risk behaviors like drug use and sexual promiscuity. They may even want to reunify with their highly dysfunctional family and continue a pattern of substance abuse and criminal behavior into another generation. A CASA must form a strong alliance with a youth before he or she can be accepted as a voice of wisdom rather than one of judgment. This is the first task of a volunteer assigned to a teen. It is often the one that is most difficult to accomplish.

Some of our youth have been in the system most of their lives. Some have had no legal or biological parents since they were toddlers and a few have never had an attorney. Kids like this have typically been through a number of foster homes and some failed adoptions. By the time they are teens, they are playing musical beds with group homes, waiting for their next seven-day notice. They are VERY high risk for delinquent behavior, for going AWOL, for dropping out of school, for underachieving, and for behavioral outbursts. They have a lot of good reasons not to trust adults and few good reasons beyond treats like trips to McDonald's, ball games and presents, to bother going out with yet another grown-up who is thrust upon them by The System.

How can a teenager learn to trust a CASA who has the power to write a report for each hearing, the requirement to be a mandated reported, and the responsibility to collaborate with caregivers, teachers and social workers? Volunteer David Eligator says that it happened with his boy because he became "the guy who just shows up." An effective CASA for a teen will have to remain supportive and non-judgmental through successes and failures, disruptions in placements, difficulties in school, encounters with juvenile justice, failed reunifications, AWOLs and personal disappointments (such as being stood up or simply not being appreciated).

A CASA Volunteer models reliability, authenticity and accountability. A 17-year-old told a training class about what he learned from his CASA. "I was on restriction because I'd gotten back late from a pass - like 24 hours late. My CASA came to see me. He knew I'd tested positive for pot. He knew I'd broken the group home rules. But he didn't get mad. He just looked at me while I talked. And I looked at him, and I saw this water coming down out of his eyes. He was CRYING. Nobody ever did that for me before. He really cared. So now, whenever I have a decision to make about whether to smoke a joint or go AWOL, I think about what he would expect me to do. It makes a difference."

Keep your eye out for trainings that may be particularly useful for those of you who are working with teens, such as Therapeutic Needs of Children in Foster Care, and Advocating for Teens. In the meantime, give your case supervisor a call. You are not alone.

—Libby Colman, Ph.D.