Change a Child’s Life

If you follow red carpet Hollywood award shows like the Academy Awards, SAG and Golden Globes, chances are that you’ve heard of a little movie called The Blind Side. If you saw the movie in the theater, you know it is hard not to be moved and inspired by the story of Michael Oher. The story is based upon his traumatic childhood and the positive turn that his life took when he was taken in by a big hearted family. There are some who scrutinize the motivation of the Tuohy family since Michael has become an All American Football star but I have much bigger questions on my mind.

It leads me to wonder how many other children living on the streets could shine like Michael Oher with a little bit of polish. It makes me to wonder how many children in the foster care system could flourish and become truly amazing when their needs have been met and they have been loved. I would venture to say that they all have a special part to play in the world.

You don’t have to be a Tuohy and make up the living room sofa for a child  in order to make a difference. (Although you could.) One way to be involved with children in need is to become a CASA. A Court-Appointed Special Advocate (or Guardian ad Litem or Child Advocate) advocates for the child in cases of neglect or abuse and acts as an officer of the court. The CASA speaks for the safety and interests of the child and gives that child a voice amongst the lawyers, parents, social workers and judges. The other professionals in the courtroom do great work but the CASA is the only one who is there purely out of desire, not occupation.

Last year, CASA volunteers served 240,000 children, according to the National CASA website at www.casaforchildren.org. That means about 1/3 of the children trying to navigate the foster care system had a volunteer assigned to them to help them find their way.

It’s hard to imagine how it must feel to have your life go sideways as a child. It’s hard to imagine how it feels to live in fear and confusion and still try to learn, grow and laugh. It’s hard for adults to understand the unwavering love a child has for his parents, even if he has experienced loss, neglect or trauma at their hands. Now just imagine the devastation he must experience when he is removed from their care and loses them too.

It’s not at all hard to imagine what a difference it might make to have just one person make that child her chief concern. By advocating for that child, the CASA volunteer can ensure that the child is receiving necessary services, education and appropriate support. The CASA program has shown that children paired with a volunteer are more likely to successfully navigate the system, spend less time in foster care and return to the Child Welfare system less often. The CASA stays on the case long term until the child is reunified with his parents or placed in another permanent home. (The goal is preservation of the family, if possible.)

I often look at my son and wonder who or what he will be when he is all grown up. I know I’m not the only one who marvels at my child’s potential. I also wonder and appreciate the possibility of every child. The children I have encountered as a CASA may not become All American football players but maybe one will play in the symphony, make the Olympic Team, discover a cure or be an amazing teacher. Maybe one child will simply be given the chance to rise above the chaos and be a fantastic parent to his own children someday. That would be victory enough to make me do a happy dance in the endzone.

There are few things we can do that have more ability to change the future than to positively change the course of a child’s life. No one said it would always be easy. Few things in this life are. But not everything that is hard should be avoided.

How could you impact children in your community? Are you willing to be a CASA? Is there a Crisis Nursery in your town that has children who need to be rocked or read to? Could you mentor parents and help them find their strength before they find their way into the system?