As a grandmother that requested a CASA for her granddaughter, I have learned a great deal about the CASA system. I now advocate for children and families caught in the foster care system. The CASA assigned to my granddaughter, in my estimation did a wonderful job of being a friend to my granddaughter. She took her away from the home, so that she could get her to open up and tell her exactly what she wanted told to the judge. She even went so far as to give my granddaughter Christmas presents to give to the family. When they removed my granddaughter from my care, the report she evidently wrote to the court was not one that the CASA supervisor approved of. I have never seen that report. But, our CASA did tell me that she was told 2-3 times by the attorney Guardian ad Litem on the case, to change her report. She said she replied that she had nothing to change. I believe that report must have been a positive one for my keeping my granddaughter. Because she would not change her report, she was not treated very kindly. The CASA supervisor refused to sit with her in the courtroom and would not speak to her. The GAL attacked her ability as a CASA and even accused her of knowing me personally before she was assigned the case. That was more than a ridiculous statement! Anyway, she quit, due to the injustice of the case. I believe her sister, also a CASA did quit too. A new CASA was assigned the case, whom I spoke to in the courthouse for a short period of time. I have read the report she wrote, a very condemning report. The report was written without her seeing the home we lived in, nor my granddaughter and I interacting together. She accused me of many things in her report. None of which were correct. When I first met her, within moments, she told me that grandparents have no rights. A very cruel thing to just up and say to a person you have just met. However, I believe that this is typical of what CASA's normally do. I have courtwatched other people's cases and heard CASAs give opinions that a person without a social workers degree should not be giving. However, it is evidently what the judges listen to. I had always understood that a CASA was the voice of a child to the judge. Not more than that! Being and advocate in the foster care system, I have learned that the CASA reputation is not a good one. They have been given far to much power to damage the lives of children and they seem to promote children being adopted rather than being returned to their families. The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform recently issued a response to CASA's own commissioned study of statistics, done by Caliber Associates. CASA itself launched an attempt to control the damage done by their own study. This report and the CASA study may be found at www.nccpr.org In the NCCPR report one statement that may be found is - "In short, CASA is one more thumb tilting the scales of justice against families". Now, why would CASA be working towards permanent removal of children from families. There can be only one reason. If they did not join with the Child Protection Service, the CPS contracted agencies, the courts and all those other programs in keeping children from their parents, there would be no need for CASA. Because, the foster care system is a business that receives billions of dollars annually from federal funding paid to the state from Social Security Title IV. The states depend upon it. The system is totally corrupt! The states are engaging in the trafficking of children for profit. Hard to believe, but if CASA were to promote the return of children to parents, they would be against the system as it now is. Georgia Senator Nancy Schaefer, was a advocate for children and families and about to expose the system for what it truly is. However, in 2010, she and her husband were murdered.....it was called a murder/suicide. There is no one that believes that. It was a hit to keep her from exposing the system. Listen to her and then believe what is so hard to believe about our government, and CASA is a part of that system. Go to www.youtube.com and search - Senator Nancy Schaefer. You will learn about a wonderful person and a true fighter of what is right!
Review from Guidestar