Commentary: Special advocates impact kids' lives

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 4, 2002 by Carolynn Caudill

All too often, children struggle to find any immunity from the chaos of a world where violence seems to be the unfortunate norm rather than the expected exception.

We, as public officials and citizens of our communities must do all that we can to protect and serve those children who cannot protect themselves. Tragically, some children are the direct victims of this chaos, both physically and emotionally.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services reported in its Annual Report 2001 that Child Protective Services accepted 27,886 referrals concerning potential child abuse and neglect cases within the State of Oklahoma. Furthermore, 13,394 of those 27,886 referrals were confirmed reports of actual child abuse and neglect that occurred in Oklahoma during that year.

Within Oklahoma County alone, DHS reported 3,072 confirmed incidents of child abuse and neglect - roughly 23 percent of all confirmed incidents within the 77 counties found throughout the state of Oklahoma.

With the support of Associate District Judge Nan Patton, presiding judge Juvenile Division, Oklahoma County has taken affirmative steps in response to such troubling trends through the implementation and maintenance of the Oklahoma County Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, Program, directed by Lee Ann Limber.

The Oklahoma County CASA program is one of more than 900 CASA programs throughout the United States and Virgin Islands. Of this very large nationwide network, more than 52,000 volunteers have served over 206,000 children within the child welfare system. As of Dec. 31, 392 volunteers have trained and served more 1,540 children through the Oklahoma County CASA Program since it was formed in 1988.

Those closely associated with the program's administration are first to acknowledge that the success lies within the hearts of those who volunteer their time and services to help children in need. The program was founded on a philosophy of ensuring that a child within the child welfare services would have his or her best interest consistently presented to the court. As such, the CASA volunteer serves as the "eyes and ears" of the court providing information the judge needs in order to make a decision that is in the child's best interest. Ultimately, the role of the CASA volunteer is to decrease the amount of disruption in a child's life and to help insure that a child has a stable and permanent home.

The humanitarian issue involved with child abuse and neglect is itself enough to motivate our society to action. However, we also must recognize another harsh reality of these acts - the monetary expense of child abuse and neglect to our society.

Given the extreme ranges of care required by those children affected by such atrocities, it would be difficult to determine an average cost incurred by the state to maintain any one given child's resulting dependence on the child welfare system. However, it is not difficult to imagine how the costs might quickly add up through the daily financial demands of foster and adoption assistance, residential placement services, and acute medical and psychiatric hospital care.

CASA volunteers make a significant dent in the attempt to control such costs. During 2001, more than 100 CASA volunteers from the Oklahoma County CASA Program committed 11,097 hours of donated service, equating to as estimated $164,568 in savings to the state and county for services to children - impacting young lives and saving the tax payers money.

For information on how you can volunteer or support your local CASA program, call Oklahoma County CASA at 713-6456. Anyone wishing to volunteer outside Oklahoma County should call (800) 742-2272.

Carolynn Caudill is in her second term as Oklahoma County clerk. For more information, please visit the county clerk's Web site at www.oklahomacounty.org/countyclerk or call the county clerk's office at 713-1864.