ATFCPA
2002 Annual
Therapeutic Foster Care
Conference
Building Partnerships: Working Hand-in-Hand
October 2-4, 2002
Embassy Suites, Montgomery, Alabama
The Alabama Therapeutic Foster Care Providers Association (ATFCPA) is dedicated to promoting more consistent and quality treatment services for therapeutic foster care children.
Court Advocates: Roles and Responsibilities
Presented by
Hon. Dan Gels, J.D., President, Alabama CASA Network, Inc.
&
Liz McCormick, Executive Director, Alabama CASA Network, Inc.
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2002
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Clinical Session
Dan Gels received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with major in Legal Studies from Bowling Green State University and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of South Dakota School of Law. He currently is at Varner & Associates, P. C. in Birmingham, Alabama where his duties include insurance defense. He has also worked as an attorney in South Dakota representing the Department of Social Services in legal disputes, such as: Medicare and Medicaid entitlement/reimbursement disputes; license revocation; child-care facility certification revocation. He defended a class action suit in which enrolled members from seven Native-American nations sought relief from the Department of Social Services; and with the central registry for child abuse and neglect disputes. He serves as President of the Alabama CASA Network. In the past he has served as a Jefferson County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer and as Executive Director of Alabama CASA Network.
Liz McCormick has accomplished much with little more than a high school education. She retired from the Social Security Administration in 1997 following more than 30 years of service. During her over thirty-year career, she held various positions from file clerk to supervisor and was recognized more than 50 times with work performance and employee suggestion awards. Those awards included the Associate Commissioner’s Citation, the Regional Commissioner’s Citation. The most prestigious award was her selection as "One of the Ten Most Outstanding Employees in the Department of Health and Human Services." She was project leader on several pilot programs and the liaison between the Treasury Department, The Federal Reserve Bank, The Social Security Administration Headquarters in Baltimore, MD, and the Program Service Center in Birmingham.
Liz became a CASA volunteer in 1996, shortly before her retirement, because she wanted to give something back to the community. As a volunteer, she has worked more than 35 cases representing almost 50 children. She has served as Treasurer of the Alabama CASA Network and Office Manager prior to assuming the position of Executive Director in April of 2001. She still works a few CASA cases, especially if a judge or DHR attorney specifically asks for her. In March of 2002, she was honored by the ten major agencies in the state that work with abused and neglected children as "Volunteer of the Year." Since her retirement, she has served as part time Director of Senior Adult Ministries at two different churches. She currently teaches a Senior Adult Ladies Sunday School Class and helps with Vacation Bible School. In addition, she serves her community as a volunteer at the Salvation Army Youth Services, Jessie’s Place (a shelter for homeless women), Secretary of the Women’s Literary Club of Leeds, and is active in the Leeds Historical Society and the Leeds Arts Council. Liz is also an avid mystery fan and will soon try her hand at acting when she appears in a local Mystery Dinner Theatre Production. She loves crafts and has several blue ribbons for some of her projects: a blue ribbon at the Alabama State Fair for "The Most Unusual Decorated Cake," two blue ribbons for her very first handmade quilt, and two for her very first poem.
The Workshop
CASA, a Powerful Voice for a Child in Court
CASA Volunteers are Court Appointed Special Advocates for children….carefully screened and highly trained community volunteers who are appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in the family court system. They are men and women who want to help their community’s children. They work for the judge, alongside attorneys and social workers as officers of the court, investigating a child’s life, gathering facts and making observations and reporting those findings to the court in a written, comprehensive report. They make recommendations that are in the best interests of the child. They also monitor court orders to ensure that services and case planning are provided in a timely manner. In all they do, their sole interest is to see that a child’s needs are met.
CASA is not new to Alabama. The first program was started in Jefferson County in 1985. However the growth has been slow until this year. Currently, there are CASA programs in 7 counties. At least three more programs are scheduled to start before the end of the year.
A safe, permanent home isn't something a child should only dream about...
Volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are everyday people who are appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children. A CASA volunteer stays with each child until he or she is placed into a safe, permanent and nurturing home.
About National CASA
History
In 1976, Superior Court Judge David Soukup of Seattle, WA, saw a recurring problem in his courtroom:
In criminal and civil cases, even though there were always many different points of view, you walked out of the courthouse at the end of the day and you said, 'I've done my best; I can live with this decision,' he explains.
"But when you're involved with a child and you're trying to decide what to do to facilitate that child's growth into a mature and happy adult, you don't feel like you have sufficient information to allow you to make the right decision. You can't walk away and leave them at the courthouse at 4 o'clock. You wonder, 'Do I really know everything I should? Have I really been told all of the different things? Is this really right?'"
To ensure he was getting all the facts and the long-term welfare of each child was being represented, the Seattle judge came up with an idea that would change America's judicial procedure and the lives of thousands of children. He obtained funding to recruit and train community volunteers to step into courtrooms on behalf of the children: the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers.
This unique concept was implemented in Seattle as a pilot program in January 1977. During that first year, the program provided 110 trained CASA volunteers for 498 children in 376 dependency cases.
In 1978, the National Center of State Courts selected the Seattle program as the "best national example of citizen participation in the juvenile justice system." This recognition, along with a grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation of New York City (one of CASA's earliest and strongest supporters), resulted in the replication of the Seattle CASA programming courts across the country.
By 1982 it was clear that a national association was needed to direct CASA's emerging national presence. The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association was formed that year.
By 1984 the National CASA Association had received financial support from several significant sources: a grant from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and two one-year grants from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. The Association opened its national headquarters office in Seattle, Washington, in the summer of 1984, and launched a membership and fundraising drive.
On April 22, 1985, President Ronald Reagan presented the National CASA Association with the President's Volunteer Action Award for "outstanding volunteer contribution, demonstrating accomplishment through voluntary action".
National CASA has also received support from the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation since 1989. This international women's fraternity selected CASA as its philanthropy and has provided funds for a variety of projects, including start-up grants and a public awareness video.
In August of 1989, the American Bar Association, the country's largest professional organization of attorneys, officially endorsed the use of CASA volunteers to work with attorneys to speak for abused and neglected children.
In July of 1990, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges named CASA "Outstanding Volunteer Program" in America's juvenile and family courts.
Also during that year the U.S. Congress authorized the expansion of CASA with the passage of the "Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990"(P.L. 101-647), so that a "court-appointed special advocate shall be available to every victim of child abuse or neglect in the United States that needs such an advocate."
In July of 1991, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, named CASA an "Exemplary
National Program in Juvenile Delinquency Prevention".In December of 1992, David Soukup, founder of CASA, was recognized with an award from the Caring Institute of Washington, D.C. Also in 1992, Congress initiated funding of a grants program to expand CASA representation of abused and neglected children.
In April 2001, the National CASA Association helped the millionth child since it first started in 1977.
Today, the National CASA Association represents over 950 CASA programs across the country in every state, including Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It provides support for starting programs, technical assistance, training, and fundraising, media, and public awareness services.
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