How many times have you passed a soccer field on an autumn Saturday and seen the kids running back and forth, the parents chatting with each other while they watch the game, the coaches calling out directions? Just an ordinary part of suburban life.
For one of our CASA kids, that experience is anything but ordinary. Katie* is fourteen, and is living in her third residential (institutional) placement in the past three years. In 2008, her adoptive family returned her to the custody of the state. They could not deal with her emotional issues, the debris caused by a childhood of neglect and abuse. In social services parlance, it was a “broken adoption”. In 2010, the Washtenaw County Juvenile Court referee asked for a CASA to be assigned to Katie.
It took a year to find a CASA who was able to make the 166-mile round trip to visit Katie every week or two. (Over 20% of our CASA kids live outside Washtenaw County because of the lack of foster homes and residential facilities.)
In early 2011, a CASA stepped forward.
She has been a vital advocate for Katie, and is making sure that she experiences some of the activities of an ordinary childhood. This fall, Katie is playing on a travel soccer team in her community, due to the efforts and persistence of her CASA. The CASA Cinderella Fund** has paid for Katie’s registration, her uniform, and a new soccer ball. We thank this CASA, and all the other CASAs who work so hard for their CASA kids. They are anything but ordinary.
*Name changed for privacy
**Friends of CASA gratefully acknowledges the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Ann Arbor for a Cinderella Fund grant, and those who donated to the Cinderella Fund at Rockin' the CASA 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment