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Starting a Tribal Court CASA Program |
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| Document Author: NCASAA Staff Contact: National CASA Staff Date Posted: 6/99 |
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What is CASA? What Does a CASA Do? A CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) is a community member appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of a child in court. CASA volunteers generally are appointed by the court to advocate for children who are victims of abuse or neglect. A CASA is an independent, objective advocate for the child who makes recommendations to the court regarding the child’s best interests. The CASA gathers independent information by reviewing all records pertaining to the child and talking with the child and others involved in the case. The CASA then makes recommendations to the court and monitors the progress of the court approved plan for the family. A CASA volunteer usually handles only 1 or 2 cases at a time - so that they can concentrate solely on the needs of the child. CASA volunteers generally handle a case until it is permanently resolved. Do We Need CASA? All Indian children have a right to a home with loving people to care for them. However, each year in the United States, millions of children are abused, neglected, or abandoned by their families. Eventually, many of these children end up in court with a judge deciding their future - should the child remain in foster care, be reunited with their parents, be placed with someone else in their extended family, or be adopted? The needs for children may be lost in an overburdened child welfare system that cannot pay close attention to each child. In order to determine the need for a Tribal Court CASA Program, it is necessary to understand the historical backdrop of Native American child welfare policy. Beginning in the 1800s, the United States implemented an oppressive assimilationist policy towards Native Americans and Native American children in particular - forcibly taking Native American children from their homes and sending them to boarding schools where they were severely punished for speaking their Native languages and practicing Native customs and religious practices. In more recent years, the removal of Native American children from their homes continued, but more often the children were placed in non-Indian foster care and adoptive homes at an alarming rate rather than boarding schools. For example, in 1974, 25% to 35% of all Native American children were in some type of out-of-home placement. In response to this extraordinarily high number of out-of-home placements of Native American children, Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901-1963). ICWA clearly recognizes that "there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children." In order to protect the best interests of Native American children and to promote the stability and security of Native American tribes and families, Congress set forth two basic jurisdictional and procedural requirements.
This Congressionally recognized need for Native American child dependency cases to be heard in tribal courts makes it imperative that tribal courts be provided with adequate information in order to be able to determine the best interests of the child. Tribal court CASA programs can provide the tribal court with independent, culturally knowledgeable advocates to speak for the best interest of children. If you have concerns about Indian children having a voice in court, then a tribal court CASA program may be one solution. What Do We Do First? There are at least four key steps in the development of a tribal court CASA program. The first step is to become knowledgeable about the problems of child abuse and neglect in your community and how a tribal court CASA program might meet existing needs. You may already be knowledgeable about the problems of child abuse and neglect in your community or you may be able to obtain this information from the service providers in your community (such as the Indian Child Welfare Program, other child protective services programs, child protection team, or tribal court personnel). Information and assistance concerning how CASA operates and its benefits to the community can be obtained from the National CASA Association and other CASA programs. Information concerning the tribal court CASA programs can be obtained from the National CASA Association at 1-800-628-3233. The second critical step is to seek the support of the judge(s), the service providers, the child protection team, tribal leaders, and the community. How you approach this step will depend upon many factors, including your own role in the community. It is particularly important, however, to seek the support of the tribal court judge(s) responsible for handling child abuse and neglect cases early in your planning process. If the judge does not want the program and does not offer support, then the program will not succeed. Some initial reluctance on the judge’s part is not unusual and should not discourage you. Often, you can counter the judge’s objections by providing information about how CASA programs operate, how CASA can be adapted to meet theeeds of tribal courts, and how CASA can benefit the community. The opportunity to talk with other judges, especially other tribal court judges, who have CASA programs may also be persuasive. Ultimately, however, you will need the support of the judge(s) - and the service providers, the child protection team, tribal leaders, and the community - in order to implement a tribal court CASA program. The third key planning step involves determining the factors which will facilitate the development of a tribal court CASA program and the barriers which will have to be overcome before the program can succeed. Knowledge and good planning will assist you in foreseeing problems and obstacles, and will help you be ready to meet them head on. The fourth key planning step is to determine the administrative location for the tribal court CASA program. Many CASA programs are established as non-profit corporations. While this may be feasible for some tribal court CASA programs, most tribal court CASA programs have been established as tribal programs under the general authority of the tribal government. There are potential conflicts of interest (or perceptions of conflicts of interest) if the tribal court CASA program is administratively located under an office which is already directly involved in child protection cases - such as the prosecutors office, defenders office, Indian Child Welfare program, child protective services program, or directly under the judge. Consequently, you should consider other possible options, if feasible, including the following: locating the program under the court administrator, having the program operate as its own separate tribal department, operating in association with a domestic violence program, operating through the child protection team, or establishing a tribally chartered non-profit corporation. Developing a tribal court CASA program is a formidable job and requires the involvement of many people in the community. Getting support from the necessary individuals and spending time in planning the program is an investment in its long term success. What Do We Need To Know Before We Get Started?
How Can CASA be Adapted to Meet the Needs of Tribal Courts and Native American People? The CASA concept is a flexible approach to providing advocates for children in child dependency proceedings which can be adapted to meet the needs of individual Native American communities. The following is a listing of some of the CASA adaptations and innovative policies and procedures which are being developed by the current Tribal Court CASA Programs:
Establishing an Image One of the most important steps you’ll be taking in starting a CASA program involves establishing an image. Some of the tribal court CASA programs have decided to use traditional concepts and/or word(s) from their tribal language for their program name. Other programs have developed traditional program logos (see illustration from the Grand Traverse Band CASA Program). The traditional program name and/or logo can be used along with the CASA name and logo. Although other names can be used, we encourage you to use the "CASA" name, the CASA logo, and the CASA slogan "Speak Up For a Child" because it links your identity with the identity of the entire CASA movement. Remember that the logo and the slogan are authorized for use by member programs only. The decisions you make in the early stages about who you are and what you are called will impact the future of your program. The effectiveness that CASA can have nationally is strengthened by a network of programs that are recognized as part of that movement. The Grand Traverse Band CASA Program has developed a program logo which utilizes tribal custom and tradition to illustrate the CASA program. The Grand Traverse logo includes a bear which represents good medicine stepping in to protect children - like the tribal justice system steps in to protect children. Moreover, the logo represents that the CASA has to have the same qualities as the bear in order to perform their role - the CASA volunteers have to be brave and strong and they can draw upon the strength of the bear to fulfill their role. For more information about the National CASA Tribal Project, please contact The National CASA Association:
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