LINDA MYERS C ourt Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Mariposa

County was established in 2004 to serve the needs of Mariposa County children who, for their own protection, have been removed from their homes by Child Welfare Services and placed in foster care.

The goals of CASA of Mariposa County are to prevent these abused, neglected and abandoned children from becoming lost in the juvenile dependency system and to help find them a safe, permanent home as soon as possible.

To achieve this, CASA of Mariposa County recruits, trains, supervises and supports community volunteers to serve as advocates and mentors. The CASA volunteer visits the child consistently, getting to know him or her as an individual— not as a case.

Linda Myers, CASA volunteer, tells of her first case with heartfelt satisfaction. Three children in the same family had been referred to the nonprofit program because of neglect. The father was mentally ill and there was no mother in the picture.

“The father loved his children,” Myers said, “and wanted to care for them, but was unable to do so properly.” The judge had ordered him to take parenting classes with the possibility of the children being returned to his care. In the meantime, the children were in the care of a local aunt and uncle. Through her relationship with the family, the children's teachers, and their therapists, Myers observed how the children had bloomed in an atmosphere of consistency and care while in their relative's home.

She recommended to the court that the children remain with these family members, along with regular and meaningful visitation with the father. When the father was handed the report during the court proceedings, Myers said she feared he would lash out at her because of her recommendation to the judge. “It was a difficult moment for me,” she said. But to her surprise, after the judge agreed with Myers, the father approached her and declared, “You’re right. I should not be given custody. This is best for my kids.”

“This really made me happy,” Myers said, adding that the children are doing well in the home of their relatives, and as a further benefit, some long-term family differences have been resolved because of the new arrangement.

Not every story has a satisfactory resolution, but those that do are what keep CASA volunteers like Myers on board—that and their love for children. Myers' background is a good example of this. “I always wanted to be a teacher and work with children,” she said. But unfortunately when she went to college there was a “teacher glut” in California so, being a practical person, she majored in business administration. After getting her degree, she worked for General Electric Credit Corporation for a while as a financial analyst, then married and had children and stayed home with them. She worked “a little” during those years—part time for a doctor and doing day care for some of her friends who were teachers.

“Then when my youngest was a junior in high school, I decided I really wanted to be a teacher which had been my first goal all along,” Myers said. She returned to college for her teaching credential and ended up teaching history and English in middle school. “My specialty was English as a second language. It was a wonderful life-changing time for me.”

Myers and her husband moved to Mariposa in 2005 from San Ramon. However, she missed working with kids, so when she learned about the CASA program it seemed like a perfect fit and she applied. “To become an advocate is a process,” she said. “Each applicant goes through 35 hours of training by a variety of personnel who work with children in the community.” She remarked that a trainee also observes court hearings to learn and understand what is involved in being a CASA volunteer, and of course each applicant is fingerprinted and screened for any criminal record. “Then we are sworn in by the judge,” Myers said. She also commented that each advocate must put in 12 hours of additional training per year, adding, “This is no small commitment, but it is extremely rewarding.”

Another case Myers has worked on involved an infant who had been removed from his mother because of her drug addiction. The father was on the run and his whereabouts were unknown. The court terminated the mother’s rights to the baby when she failed to make substantial progress in dealing with her addiction. At that point, Myers worked to make sure that the child was placed with his paternal grandparents, rather than staying in foster care. Eventually his grandparents were made guardians, and this child will grow up with kin, knowing his biological family. Studies have demonstrated how important it is that children be raised by family members if at all possible, and so Myers is “very satisfied with the resolution of this case.”

CASA volunteers spend a lot of time getting to know the children to whom they are assigned. “We take them on outings, to movies and the park,” Myers said. She has also spent time tutoring a foster child. She explained that while providing this emotional support and the stability and nurturing every child deserves, an advocate makes recommendations that are in the child’s best interest. “Not only are we the eyes and ears for the court, but we must be the voice of the child during any legal proceedings.”

In July of 2008, when Janet Kottman, Executive Director of CASA of Mariposa County, learned Myers had a degree in finance, she asked her to be part of the CASA staff as its fiscal officer. Myers agreed and now, in addition to her hours as an advocate, she works part time in the office assisting with grant compliance and keeping the finances in order.

Myers said when she first began working as a CASA volunteer, she wasn’t sure she would make an impact. “You get started on a case and are confronted with a plethora of problems, and I wondered to myself, am I really making a difference?”

She said you can’t in every single case. “Some you just go in and do the best you can, but in others you have an opportunity to make an absolute turnaround for a child.” To Myers' satisfaction she feels the answer is yes, as a CASA volunteer she has made a tremendous difference in the lives of her assigned children.

The CASA office is located at the corner of Highway 140 and 8th Street. The phone number is 742-4206. Those who would like to assist with much needed funding can send tax deductible donations to: CASA of Mariposa County, P.O. Box 73, Mariposa, CA 95338.