While sitting at juvenile court, I never got a night’s sleep without waking to wonder if at least one decision I made that day had been the best for a child. It struck me that it might be possible to recruit and train volunteers to investigate a child’s case so they could provide a voice for the child in those proceedings, proceedings which could affect their whole lives.” -Judge David W. Soukup, Founder of CASA Judge David Soukup's nightly ponderings led to the inception of the Court Appointed special Advocate (CASA) program, which specially trains volunteers to provide a voice for children in dependency and custody cases. Today, CASA is a national organization that has 50,000 community volunteers who advocate for children's rights across 49 states. …show more content…
In 1976, Judge Soukup set up an informal brown bag lunch to see if anyone was interested in helping him with his CASA idea.
He was expecting five to ten potential volunteers to show up. He walked into a room of approximately 60. It hit Judge Soukup that his small idea was huge. It was the catalyst for change he was looking for and finally, a non-attorney voice would be responsible for conveying the wishes of the child--expressing an opinion to the judge as to the child's best interests and assuring access to social services for family members. "It was a wonderful surprise to see how many folks were interested in the program," said Judge Soukup. "The moment I walked into that room and the discussion got going, the momentum never really stopped." Suddenly, the CASA movement was born. "The CASA's voice becomes the children's key means of communicating with the court," said Judge Soukup. "And that information is crucial to help a judge make the best decision
possible." CASA was Judge Soukup's most brilliant vision. He received the Washington Bar Association's Award of Merit for his work on the program, which came as both a shock and honor to the retired judge. "It is remarkable that the WSBA would bestow their highest honor for a program that is dedicated to helping needy kids. That is just remarkable" he said. It is no wonder, then, that Judge Soukup sleeps more easily nowadays. His nights are no longer filled with worry and frustration. He rests his head knowing that his CASA program has affected the lives of millions of children for the better and can sleep with a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and finally--peace.
Within the last five years, violent offenses by children have increased 68 percent, crimes such as: murder, rape, assault, and robbery. Honestly, with these figures, it is not surprising at all that the Juveniles Courts focus less on the children in danger, and focus more on dangerous children. This in fact is most likely the underlying reasoning behind juveniles being tried as adults by imposing harsher and stiffer sentences. However, these policies fail to recognize the developmental differences between young people and
The book “No Matter How Loud I Shout” written by Edward Humes, looks at numerous major conflicts within the juvenile court system. There is a need for the juvenile system to rehabilitate the children away from their lives of crime, but it also needs to protect the public from the most violent and dangerous of its juveniles, causing one primary conflict. Further conflict arises with how the court is able to administer proper treatment or punishment and the rights of the child too due process. The final key issue is between those that call for a complete overhaul of the system, and the others who think it should just be taken apart. On both sides there is strong reasoning that supports each of their views, causing a lot of debate about the juvenile court system. Edward Humes follows the cases of seven teenagers in juvenile court, and those surrounding them.
Returning to the judicial world of the Bronx Family Court as a judge, after years of working in administration, Judge Richard Ross is astonished to find a distinctly more disjointed situation than the one he left. As he attempts to live out his life as “both the fact finder and arbiter of the law” it is clear the current judicial system does not serve him well (xv). Judge Ross conveys to the reader the fundamental issues of the Family Court system through his day to day happenings which range from endless caseloads to death threats. The use of personal experience is effective in adding credibility to more clearly convey his point that not only the Judges, but the case workers, 18-B attorneys, and various legal aides are overworked to a point
The foster care system, then as now was desperate for qualified homes. Kathy and her husband had become certified foster parents, she was a certified teacher, and they had empty beds in their home. Their phone soon bega...
...l now be given the power to interfere in cases where parents have failed in their duties towards the child. This is extremely important as it allows the State to intervene in cases where there has been a failure, which was difficult to do in the past. This new role of protecting children's rights is favourable as it will, hopefully, prevent any failure by the State to children in unacceptable circumstances/situation.
A state that undertakes custody of a child is declaring that it can do a better job providing protection. This system is a powerful agent of support, providing positive nurturing environments that enable a child to reach his or her potential. Nonetheless, when children suffer additional abuse in the system, this government intervention should be questioned.
...t with a child in the foster care system. This paper gave me the opportunity to learn the positives and the negatives as well as more details about the little parts of the foster care system that I didn’t know existed. Even though my focus is to help the child and think about their best interest, this paper showed me that the parents, both biological and foster, are another important factor that helps the children. It made me realize that I will need to meet the parents and work with them to make a plan that fits their life. I will need to figure out what issues they feel are important to fix and how to get to those solutions. Foster care is a complex system that will challenge me daily if I enter the into this specific field but even if I work with children in a different environment I need to be aware that children come from all different types of backgrounds.
...s A. Preciado, but despite these wrong decisions being made by juveniles, they deserve a second chance to better themselves as potential future citizens. Even Gail garinger who was a former juvenile judge believes that they are capable such manner, In her article, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences” written March 14, 2012 and published by New York Times, it states that “as a former juvenile court judge, I have seen firsthand the enormous capacity of children to change and turn themselves around. The same malleability that makes them vulnerable to peer pressure also makes them promising candidates for rehabilitation”. I believe, and still do, that even though juveniles that have taken a wrong path, regardless of what they 've done, need guidance from us and people who were once juveniles to mentor them and be given a second chance, just as I did a long time ago.
The goal of Juvenile Courts and the Child Welfare Agencies is to protect and make decision in the best interest of children. The ASFA law was signed by President Bill Clinton. On November 19, 1997 after it was approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month. The law was the most significant piece of legislation dealing with child welfare in twenty years. States decided to interpret the law as requiring biological families to be kept together no matter what, but the law shifted emphasis towards children health and safety concerns and away from a policy of reuniting children with their birth parents without regards to their prior abuse. ASFA lead sponsor, Republican Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island said, “We will not continue the current system of always putting the needs and rights of biological parents first … It’s time we recognize that some families simply cannot and should not be kept together.” This phil...
Many children across the country are wrongfully removed from their homes everyday by workers with an anti-family mindset, who use removal as a first resort not a last. It is not only detrimental to the child’s well-being, but is also immorally abusive to the child. The goal of the child welfare system is to promte safety, permanency, and wellness among all children.
Vito, Gennaro F., and Clifford E. Simonsen. Juvenile justice today. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. Print.
Listening to a child’s viewpoint in today’s world is one technique to fully understand what they are thinking about and why they would be thinking about it. These children are having a horde of thoughts streaming through their mind with the foster children transitioning into a new home and receiving a new family. Although, the foster child is not the only one feeling anxious about the switch into another home but the f...
This experience is really interesting for me. To observe the procedure of the court, to see how American system works, to see how government money spent, to see one of the most common case in the United State, and to witnessed something I have never seen with my own eyes before is really interesting. Even though I cannot know what is the answer of the judge about child custody in this case but I have got something out of this helpful assignment.
Women’s shelters first began many years ago and have improved over time. The first shelter in the nation for abused women and their children, Women’s Advocates, was founded in 1974, in St. Paul,...
Why is PAS an unjust approach to use in a courtroom? PAS can often blind the court officials and a child can mistakenly be put into an unsafe living situation. Many courts are uneducated of the fact the Parental Alienation Syndrome is not actually a syndrome but just a theory. The judges and the jury, many...