CASA of the Southern Tier

In order to gain an inclusive understanding of child advocacy, it is important to explore children’s welfare services in the local region. Institutions dedicated to servicing youth are crucial to each and every community. There are a plethora of children in the world, each with distinctive stories and unique situations, who perish without access to quality resources. Fortunately, the Finger Lakes region is rich in nonprofit organizations, agencies, and government programs that unequivocally promote the welfare of children. The local organization, CASA of the Southern Tier, has been leading the movement for child welfare since 1989 by advocating for children who have been disproportionately afflicted by family endangerment. 

The CASA mission encapsulates advocating for the best interests of abused and neglected children in Family Court by recruiting and training community volunteers. This profound manifestation of volunteerism endlessly generates social, emotional, and legal benefits to the children of which it services. The incorporation serves a disadvantaged population of children, who are in the foster care system or at risk of being placed, by providing an element of continuity in their lives. This mission is enacted by assigning a consistent adult role model to help these children achieve a permanent living situation and advocate for their best interests. In fact, the acronym for CASA is “court-appointed special advocates” which is the title for the community volunteers who participate in their mission. 

CASA services a number of children, ranging from sixty to eighty in a quintessential year; however, the pandemic and its influence on family demographics have caused this number to fluctuate quite a bit. The incorporation has observed a decrease in these numbers over the past two years, receiving about forty to sixty cases per year as of the recent survey. An explanation for this decline is most likely the product of smaller families appearing in the welfare system and thereby causing fewer cases to emerge from each individual family. The ages of these children range from infancy to twenty-one years old and one case typically operates across a one- to two-year timeline. The conclusion of a case may include placement in a safe and permanent environment or reunification with former caregivers; regardless, both culminations leave children in a more stable position than they initially started within the CASA program. 

Continuity is foreign territory to most foster children as they often fall victim to broken families, endangered households, and other adverse circumstances. As a product of this instability, these children face constant challenges in their lives and endure severe emotional damage. CASA of the Southern Tier fills these gaps in the lives of children they work with by providing a steady adult figure to count on for support. There is an immense amount of turnover in social services because when foster children are moved to different homes, they lose all sense of familiarity. This lack of consistency insinuates trauma and trust issues as children are forced to adapt to new school districts, classmates, foster families, social workers, and a multitude of other changing factors. A differentiating component of CASA is the ability for advocates to stay in the lives of their assigned children, even when they move foster homes or school districts. In this manner, the continuity of the program stays intact and the children are provided a stable environment. 

There is no extent to which CASA of the Southern Tier changes the lives of children in the Elmira-Corning community. Sometimes all the children need to know is that they have someone in their corner. Charlene Johnson, executive director of the program, expresses that the mission of CASA is to provide children with a safe space because it is much easier for children to express their feelings when they have an outlet to express themselves. Advocates are not only given the opportunity to foster a connection but also empowered to humanize their child in court. Charlene Johnson describes the process: “CASA allows a Judge to see a different perspective of each child, sometimes opening up a bigger picture of the child’s world and needs!” CASA of the Southern Tier is one of many incredible organizations striving to spread justice and mercy among children in the community.