Casa/gal

I haven't been in a situation to use one yet, but a CASA is a court appointed special advocate. Their job is to advocate strictly for the best interest of the child without worrying about blood relation or family.

Yep, that is what they are SUPPOSSED to do. Some are good and some are bad.I just had a very bad experience with one who made assumptions and had her own agenda

Gal stands for Guardian ad litem. They are basically the same thing. They are a lawyer who represents the bests interests of the child. The caseworkers are usually involved with the family, not just the child.

I'd also like to say that GALs sometimes have their own agendas and do not advocate for what is in the best interest of the child. If your FC has either one of them, be in touch and make sure they are professional and accountable. If not, find out who you have to call to get your FC better advocates--we learned (too late) that they can be replaced.

The GAL is not necessarily a lawyer, BTW. Depends on the state, and maybe the case. Our son's first GAL was great, the second not so great. The GAL always had a lawyer from the GAL program with them for court hearings.

Often a casa worker is a volunteer where a GAL is a paid position. They only report to the judge and can be helpful when a social or case worker says something can not be done (braces or therapy). They can be very helpful in making sure visits are suppervised or UA are done prior to visits.

We Have A Casa Rep And She Is There For Our Fs. We Have Been Through Several Caseworkers And There Seems To Be A Stability Issue With Caseworkers But Thankfully We Have A Great And Committed Casa Rep. When We Go To Court And I Am Stressed That A New Caseworker Or A Temporary Caseworker May Not Know Too Much About Our Case, I Know That We Have A Casa Rep Who Has Done Her Job And Is There For Our Fs And Will Be A Stability In The Case. If For Nothing Else We As The Foster Parents And Our Casa Rep Have Been The Only Thing Stable For This Child In This Case. We Have Lost So Many Caseworkers And Now There Is A Hiring Freeze So From What I Heard We Only Have 3 Caseworkers In Our County, So To Say The Least They Are Over Worked And Maxed Out.

I am a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). We are unpaid volunteers that are assigned to cases to advocate for the kids and do what is "in their best interest". Once we are assigned a case, we get some initial information about the children, the family, and the situation that led to their removal. At that point, we start our own investigation to obtain information so we can best help the child. We speak to the kids, the parents, caseworkers, teachers, doctors, etc. We do not investigate any criminal charges or seek information that pertains to an open criminal case. The information we find helps us determine if the child might be in need of testing (perhaps for developmental delays), or services. It also helps us get to know the situation and about the child, as we give reports and our recommendation to the court for almost every hearing and court date. Not only do we recommend where the child should live, temporarily and permanently, but we recommend services that the parents need or should be required to do, as well as services for the children. In our reports to the court, we also state what the child wants to happen, and what the child wants the judge to know (if they are of speaking age and able to understand what a judge is and communicate their wishes to the CASA). This doesn't mean that the child will get what they want, after all, most kids would want to eat candy all day if you let them, but it isn't good for them. However, it does give them a voice. During the course of a case, often caseworkers change frequently. A CASA typically stays with the case the entire time a child is in foster care. Judges typically listen to a CASA's opinion even more than a caseworkers because the CASA has been with the case for the duration may know more about the case than the caseworker for this reason, because CASAs have a smaller caseload and see the children more often than the caseworker, and because we aren't paid and aren't being told by someone else what to say in court. CASAs can help by finding services for the foster kids, and those involved with the case. They can also help make sure that the child isn't forgotten, or things aren't amiss with the case and Children's Administration. Caseworkers often have huge caseloads and things can fall through the cracks, CASAs help ensure that doesn't happen. As with any job or volunteer, there are good and bad employees and volunteers. I know of cases where CASAs haven't been doing what they should, for example, befriended the parents instead of remaining neutral to the case. You can always call the local CASA office and speak with the volunteer's supervisor. It should be about the kids and their safety, not about what the parents want.