# @VoicesForChildrenSD on Facebook

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.facebook.com/1382409977249656/posts/10157826985796809
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64996676-VoicesForChildrenSD-facebook
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/4458ac63ed.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-05-27T15:00:24.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Bree McNamara (@bree.mcnamara) — https://gondola.cc/bree.mcnamara

## Caption

Welcome to Day 4 of #FosteringKnowledge, a week-long collaboration between Voices for Children, Children's Advocacy Institute, San Diego Center for Children, Riverside STAY, and Walden Family Services to help our community better understand foster care.

When a child enters foster care, a team of caring adults comes into their life. This includes foster parents or group home staff, social workers, lawyers, judges, and more. With so many people working to support them, why does a child also need a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)? 

A primary reason is caseloads. 

Our dependency system is overburdened:
💗 Social workers typically manage upwards of 25 entire families at any given time. 
💼 Lawyers may represent 100 children.
⚖️ Judges may oversee 500 or more cases. 

With this amount of work, it’s impossible to know the nuances of each child’s situation. However, CASA volunteers are assigned to a single child or sibling set to ensure their unique needs are being met. Although a CASA often becomes a mentor or friend, their most important role is advocate for the youth they serve.

By being devoted to just one case, a CASA gets to see the full picture. They get to know the child and everyone in the child’s circle, from teachers and doctors to biological families and current caregivers. Based on the information they glean, they can advocate for services – such as counseling, tutoring, or physical therapy – to help the child live a happier, healthier life. At regular court hearings required for all youth in foster care, CASAs report on the child’s progress and needs. Judges then rely on this information when making decisions about the child’s future.

A CASA’s input can impact where a youth in foster care is placed to live. Tomorrow, Walden Family Services will share more about foster care placements and how these crucial decisions are made.

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- **Likes:** 8
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- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

fosteringknowledge

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