[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of York County 1-1-1991. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The mission of the York County Court-Appointed Special Advocate
(CASA) Program is to provide advocacy in court for abused and/or neglected
children that will lead to placement in safe, permanent homes.
The York County CASA Program recruits, screens, trains and supervises
volunteers who are then appointed by the Juvenile Judge to help represent
the best interests of abused and/or neglected children. The program
strives to help move children more quickly through the court system
to safe, permanent placements.
The goal of the York County CASA Program is to provide expeditious
and thorough advocacy for abused and/or neglected children that will
lead to placement in safe, permanent homes. The CASA volunteers serve
as the eyes and ears of the court by providing a more detailed account
of each child's situation to aid the Judge in permanency planning
decisions. To achieve this goal, the CASA volunteers perform three
basic functions:
York County CASA serves children, between the ages of birth
to 18 years, who have been adjudicated dependent and are receiving
services from York County Children and Youth Services. These children
have been abused and/or neglected and are in need of more intensive
monitoring of their situations to aid in permanency planning. The
children can be referred to the York County CASA Program by the Judge
presiding over Dependency Court, by Children and Youth Services or
by attorneys assigned to the case. Referrals received by other service-providing
agencies or community professionals are also taken into consideration.
The York County CASA Program strives to provide quality volunteers
who meet the following minimum standards:
A.
Must be 18 years of age.
B.
Must successfully pass York County CASA Program screening requirements (see § 173-8, Screening policies for volunteer applicants).
C.
Must successfully complete York County CASA Program training (see § 173-9, Training policies for volunteer applicants).
D.
Must abide by the York County CASA Program's policies and procedures.
In advocating for the best interests of the child, the CASA
volunteer will pursue the minimum following activities:
A.
Review Children and Youth Services records and consult with the caseworker.
B.
Interview parties involved in the case, including interviewing and
observing the child.
C.
Determine whether or not reasonable efforts are being made to provide
services to the child and family and that a permanent plan has been
created for the child.
D.
Ensure that the child's best interests are represented at every
stage of disposition by:
E.
Monitoring the case by:
(1)
Visiting the child/family as often as necessary to observe whether
or not the child's essential needs are being met and to ensure
compliance with the court's order.
(2)
Participating in any planning or treatment team meetings involving
the child in order to monitor the status of the child's permanent
plan.
(3)
Communicating with involved service providers to ensure that services
are being provided to and utilized by the family as specified by the
court's order.
F.
Reporting any incidents of child abuse or neglect to the York County
CASA staff and to York County Children and Youth Services.
G.
Maintaining complete, written records about the case, including a
log of appointments, interviews, telephone calls and other information
gathered about the child.
H.
Maintaining the confidentiality of the information gathered regarding
the case and the identity of the involved parties.
A.
A CASA volunteer should not become inappropriately involved in the
case by providing direct service delivery to any parties that could:
C.
A CASA volunteer may transport a child, but should have permission
of the person or agency who or which holds custody before doing so.
D.
A CASA volunteer should not be related to any parties involved in
the case or be employed in a position and/or agency that might result
in a conflict of interest.
A.
To ensure that volunteers accepted into the CASA Program are competent
and of good character in order to help represent the best interests
of abused and neglected children in court, the York County CASA Program
carefully screens all volunteer applicants according to the following
procedures:
(1)
The applicant must submit a written application containing information
concerning personal experiences with child abuse and/or neglect, educational
background and employment history.
(2)
The applicant will participate in a personal interview with the CASA
staff.
(3)
The applicant must provide three written letters of reference from
persons unrelated to the applicant. If necessary, the CASA office
will conduct an interview to obtain additional information.
B.
The CASA Program will conduct a formal security check of the volunteer
applicant by screening criminal records through local and state law
enforcement agencies and the Central Child Abuse Registry.
C.
The volunteer applicant will not be accepted into the CASA Program
if he or she:
(1)
Is convicted as an adult of either a felony or misdemeanor which
is a sex offense, a crime affecting family relationships, child abuse
or neglect, assault, battery or a crime against public morals;
(2)
Is found to have charges pending for criminal offenses or offenses
listed above; or
(3)
Refuses to sign a release of information for appropriate law enforcement
checks.
D.
The CASA Program will maintain written records on each prospective
volunteer covering all screening procedures.
A.
The CASA Program provides training to ensure that volunteers understand
their roles and responsibilities. Training includes, but is not limited
to, coverage of these topics: functioning of the court and child welfare
systems; the dynamics of child abuse and neglect; and how to appropriately
advocate for the best interest of abused and/or neglected children
in court.
B.
The volunteer applicant must attend a minimum of 30 hours of initial
training.
C.
At the direction of the National CASA Association, initial CASA training
must include instruction on:
(1)
Roles and responsibilities of a CASA volunteer.
(2)
Confidentiality.
(3)
Cultural awareness.
(4)
Child abuse and neglect.
(5)
Child development.
(6)
Permanency planning.
(7)
Techniques to accurately obtain and document information (including
report writing skills).
(8)
Effective communication skills and interviewing techniques.
(9)
Juvenile Court processes.
(10)
Advocacy (how to improve conditions for children).
D.
By completion of training, each participant must have attended two
juvenile dependency hearings to observe court proceedings.
F.
The CASA Program uses a variety of instructors, including program
staff, Judges, attorneys, Children and Youth Services representatives,
service providers and other volunteers.
G.
The CASA Program provides a minimum of 10 hours of in-service training
per year to volunteers once they are accepted into the program.
A.
All volunteers accepted into the CASA Program must successfully pass
screening and training requirements.
B.
The CASA Program will notify all applicants, in writing, of the status
of their applications. Those not selected will, if possible, be referred
to alternative volunteer opportunities more suitable to them.
C.
Volunteers are sworn in by a presiding Juvenile Court Judge.
D.
The Judge determines which cases shall be assigned to the CASA Program,
and all appointments and assignments must be made by an appropriate
order of the court.
E.
CASA volunteers are assigned, when possible, at the earliest stages
of the court proceedings.
F.
The average number of cases that are simultaneously carried by a
CASA volunteer should not be more than three.
G.
Upon the appointment of a CASA volunteer to a case, the CASA office
notifies, in writing, (accompanied by the order of appointment) all
parties and agencies involved.
H.
The CASA volunteer will have complete and immediate access to all
records and documents pertaining to assigned cases.
A.
The CASA Program staff should be easily accessible and provide quick
and thorough guidance to the CASA volunteer when he or she is assigned
to a case.
B.
The CASA Program staff and volunteer should maintain regular contact
in order to review progress of the case.
C.
The recommended volunteer/staff ratio for supervision of volunteers
is thirty to one (30:1).
D.
The CASA Program has access to legal counsel to provide consultation
and advice.
E.
The volunteer must submit all recommendations concerning the case
to the Director or Volunteer Coordinator in a signed, written report.
The report shall not be altered without the permission and understanding
of the CASA volunteer. If the CASA Program staff disagrees with the
volunteer's recommendation, an additional report should be submitted
to the court under the Director's signature.
F.
The CASA Program staff is responsible for submitting (processing)
the volunteer's report to the court in a timely manner so as
not to jeopardize the best interests of the child.
G.
A CASA volunteer may be discharged by the program Director for any
of the following reasons:
(1)
The volunteer takes action, without program or court approval, which
endangers the child, compromises the child's best interests or
is outside the role or powers of the CASA Program.
(2)
The volunteer violates a program policy, court rule or law.
(3)
The volunteer demonstrates inability to effectively carry out CASA
duties.
(4)
The volunteer fails to complete required ongoing training.
(5)
The volunteer falsifies the volunteer application or misrepresents
facts during the screening process.
H.
The CASA Program should evaluate all volunteers, on an annual basis,
using a standardized evaluation form to review their performance and
effectiveness. The evaluation should include an analysis of case files,
in-service training and comments from the Judge.
I.
The CASA Program should practice ongoing recognition of volunteers
through written and verbal acknowledgments by Judges and staff, in
newsletters and in the media.
A.
The CASA office keeps complete case assignment records, including
an up-to-date calendar of court hearings and copies of all volunteer
reports and correspondence concerning the case. Case files should
be returned to the CASA office when the volunteer is discharged from
the case.
B.
The CASA Program keeps a record of the following information:
(1)
The number of children served per year.
(2)
The number of volunteers assigned to cases.
(3)
The total number of children served to date.
(4)
The number of cases closed and length of time each case was in the
court system.
(5)
The breakdown of types of cases (number of sexual abuse, physical
abuse or neglect).
(6)
The average length of time children are in out-of-home placement.
(7)
The average length of time a child is in foster care, from the time
a CASA volunteer is assigned to the case until a permanent placement
is made.
C.
The CASA Program should prepare a monthly action report of cases
and volunteers.
E.
The CASA Program must provide each staff member and volunteer with
a copy of the policies and procedures manual.
