FAQ
How much time is involved in being a CASA?
Once you complete the training (you must attend all training sessions), our CASAs spend from 5-10 hours a month, on average.
What is the daytime commitment?
One-time observation of Family Court proceedings - one morning (4 hours), to complete the CASA training. Case assignment - approx. 1 hour, then 1-2 hours to read the child's court file. After you are assigned your case you will need to go to the DYFS office to read their records. This can take from 1 – 5 hours.
If you have a case that is reviewed in court, (all CASA cases are periodically reviewed by the Judge), you would want to attend court that day – approximately 3 hours in the morning. These reviews are usually once every three months. If you are not available to go, your case supervisor can represent you and the program. CASA cases are reviewed by the Child Placement Review Board once every year. Some daytime meetings take place at various agencies throughout the year; this can take 1 – 2 hours a few times throughout the year.
If the child is school age, you would want to visit their school at least once to meet with the Principal, guidance counselor, and/or teacher; this can only take place during the day.
Most contact with agencies and their staff, after the initial in-person one, can be done over the phone. Please note that as our cases are confidential, you must be able to talk in private on the phone when on the phone.
Visits to CASA children, relatives, and some agencies can take place in the evening or on the weekends .
How is CASA different from the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS)?
The case managers from DYFS have many cases. They have to provide services for the whole family. A CASA concentrates only on one child or family of children. In addition, CASA volunteers do not provide direct services - they evaluate the child's needs and make best-interest recommendations to the court.
CASA of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties, Inc. is a not-for-profit agency. We are not part of the court or social services system. This helps us to maintain an independence from these agencies.
How attached does a CASA become to the child(ren)?
CASAs do not have a close relationship with the child the way a Big Brother or Big Sister would. As an advocate, you see the child approximately once a month. The CASA role is to facilitate services for the child, not to have the child or the family become dependent upon them.
Do CASAs go into the homes of the birth parents whose children have been removed?
CASAs meet birth parents both in their homes and in neutral places such as diners, fast food restaurants, the place they may go for therapy or visits with their child, or outside the courtroom. The safety of the volunteer is very important to us, and we would never ask a volunteer to go someplace where they did not feel safe. If the child is going to be reunited with the parent(s), the CASA often goes to visit where they live shortly before this takes place as part of their independent assessment of the situation.
How do professionals feel about CASAs?
We are very fortunate that we have solid working relationships with DYFS, Family Court, and the other service providers involved with the CASA children. We work cooperatively and meet on a regular basis to prevent misunderstandings.
CASA SHaW is a full member of both CASA of New Jersey and National CASA. The CASA model is endorsed nationally by the American Council of Family Court Judges, American Bar Association, and is a priority project of the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.