Advocates Change The Lives Of County’s Abused Children

By Linda Kor
   April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, designated to make people aware of child neglect and abuse, and to encourage them to support children who are involved in abusive situations and help them find peace in their lives.
   For the most part, the children of Navajo County have good homes, loving families and a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, there are also those who live in a different environment altogether, and thus suffer emotional or physical pain from the very people who should love them most, their family.
   Many of these children end up in the court system as innocent victims of poor choices made by family members. Navajo County reaches out to provide representation to these children through the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program.
   The volunteers who participate in this program bring these children some measure of comfort as their situation goes through the court system. In Navajo County, about 90 percent of these cases involve substance abuse.
   The county has an average of 150 children currently in foster care. Twenty-six CASA volunteers provide services to 60 of them. These devoted volunteers speak to the best interest of children who have been abused or neglected, and removed from their home for their safety.
   According to CASA Coordinator Kirk Grugel, the services offered by this program make a huge difference in the life of a child. Typically, the services the state offers to families in the foster system include substance abuse treatment, monitoring through urinalysis, visitation, parenting classes and other specialized services the “child family team” finds productive.
   This team of many different players includes behavioral health specialists, Child Protective Services, parent aides, an in-home support liaison, family members and a CASA. The team meets monthly, and encourages the family to make good changes to repair the family.
   “A CASA monitors all activity, gets to know the family and especially the children,” stated Grugel. At appropriate times, the CASA writes a report to the judge about what has transpired. Unfortunately, stated Grugel, families are not always able or willing to make the necessary changes to reunify the family. Such a case could then move in another direction to seek permanent solutions for these children’s future. Those solutions could include a guardianship with a relative, or the extreme of severance of the parents’ rights and eventual adoption. The CASA agrees to stay with a case to the end so the children have a sense of stability from them.
   Of the volunteers taking part in the program, the majority are in the southern portion of the county.
   “We have only one volunteer for Winslow, one in Joseph City and one in Holbrook,” stated Grugel. “Although I am very grateful to these volunteers, I would really love to see some more people volunteer from the central portion of the county.”
   The amount of time that a volunteer spends with a child varies, but on average it takes two to four hours a week to be a CASA after the volunteer receives training.
   “These volunteers are there to represent the best interest of the child. It may not necessarily be what the child wants, but what the child needs to ultimately have a better life,” Grugel explained.
   For more information on how you can improve the live of a child in need by volunteering as a CASA, contact Grugel at (928) 524-4135 or kgrugel@courts.az.gov.