The Power of Advocacy

In any given year, there are more than 7,000 children in Connecticut courts under child protection, including over 1,000 in New Haven alone. The need to safeguard their best interests, as Josiah Brown knows, is great. Brown is the executive director of Connecticut Court Appointed Special Advocates (CT CASA), a New Haven-based social justice organization that helps improve outcomes for children at risk.

“Research shows that a key to the resilience of a child who has experienced adversity and trauma is having a relationship with at least one caring adult,” Brown says. “Our volunteers provide that, and we’re an organization where a modest investment can go a long way in changing the trajectory of a child’s life.”

The organization is aligned with a national CASA movement, which provides volunteer advocates to help youth involved in the court system because of abuse or neglect. CASA recruits, trains and manages volunteers who engage with foster care cases – in which children are removed from their home – and protective supervision cases in which children remain with their biological family if it’s deemed safe. “Our advocates can play a role in preventing a child’s entry into the foster care system,” Brown says.

Volunteers serve as court appointed advocates for an 18-month term, with the average volunteer committing 10-15 hours per month to the role. “Advocates seek to build a positive relationship with the child they’ve been assigned to, and whenever possible with their family members,” Brown says. Volunteers – who range in age from 20s to 70s – come from diverse professional backgrounds, including law, healthcare, education and social work.

Volunteers are appointed by a judge and typically support two to three children during their service. Before meeting their assigned children, they receive 30-hours of trauma-informed preparation. Once assigned, the volunteer must meet with their child at least monthly, and conduct a fact-based gathering of information through meeting social workers, therapists, educators and medical professionals involved with the child. The volunteers submit written reports to the court to help inform judges in determining the best interests of the child. “Every child involved in the court system has an attorney; and one of our responsibilities is to complement the roles of the attorney, and social workers, who have heavy caseloads,” Brown says.

CASA also works to identify community resources like early childhood, after-school and summer programs, and job opportunities for children to help them stay on track to graduate high school and plan beyond. Last year, CT CASA served more than 150 youth, supported by 100 volunteers, and expanded to seven of ten courts statewide. That work is managed by Brown and a small staff of five.

Brown points to funding and capacity – both of staff and volunteers – as primary challenges. “We’re getting more case appointments; our program is growing,” Brown says. “We need additional volunteers across the state.” CT CASA currently receives about one-third of its operating support from federal dollars passed through the state judicial branch on a competitive basis, but also relies on foundations and individual donors to support its work.  The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven granted $10,000 to support the organization’s general operations, and helped connect CT CASA to donors interested in its cause. “The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven has enhanced the visibility around our work, which helps lead to more volunteers – advocating for more children.”