For Susan Tolin, becoming a volunteer for the 13th Judicial District South Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, was simply a way to give back to an organization that had helped her own family.
Tolin has been a CASA volunteer for about two years now. But she first encountered the organization earlier, when she began fostering children, one of whom would become her youngest daughter.
“They did a lot for us when we were in the system,” she said.
Tolin said the CASA volunteer was wonderful to work with, so she looked for a way to stay involved with the organization. That’s when Lacey Morgan, volunteer coordinator, approached her about donating her time with CASA.
“I thought that is the perfect way to be involved,” Tolin said. “I can still volunteer the time and make a difference in the outcomes in the best possible way for the child and not have the time constraints that is necessary in order to do actual fostering.”
Tolin said being a CASA volunteer allows her to develop a personal relationship with the children in her cases, which she noted was very important as it helps the child to feel more secure.
“It’s a scary process for a child who is in foster care,” Tolin said. “Sometimes their CASA worker is the only constant that they have throughout that process. … At least they see that one face … they know that that’s the person that’s there just for them.”
As a volunteer, Tolin said her best experience so far has been seeing the face of the children in cases where they are able to be reunited with their family. She said it’s wonderful to be able to fulfill a child’s wish to go home, when it is in the best interest of the child.
When asked what has been the hardest experience, Tolin said it would have to be the cases that involve addiction and substance abuse.
“It’s the hardest on the child, the parents, everybody,” she said.
Be a part of the Community Christmas Card
This year, the El Dorado News-Times’ annual Community Christmas Card will benefit the local CASA office. Contributors who donate at least $2 through Dec. 20 will have their names included on the Christmas card that runs in our Christmas Eve edition.
Checks for the Community Christmas Card should be made out to CASA/Community Christmas Card. Donations may be made in person at the News-Times office or sent via mail to Community Christmas Card, c/o El Dorado News-Times, P.O. Box 912, El Dorado, AR.
Because she was a foster parent, Tolin said she already knew much of the process that she would encounter as a CASA volunteer. But being a CASA volunteer is what Tolin would recommend to anyone who has considered being a foster parent, but is afraid of the commitment and all that comes with it.
“It gives you that exposure to the entire judiciary process,” Tolin said. “You see how the whole process works and you kind of know what to expect that way.”
The training process for CASA volunteers can also help prepare someone to be a foster parent. Tolin said she learned things in her training about child development that she wished she had known when she was fostering children.
And for anyone considering becoming a CASA volunteer, Tolin advised to talk to someone who currently volunteers or to Morgan, who works with all the volunteers. But Tolin emphasized that volunteering with CASA isn’t the time commitment some may think it is. She said the volunteer is usually making calls to various agencies, organizations and people to check in on the child.
“The amount of time that most people spend watching their favorite TV show can be used to write a court report or send a text message to a foster parent … or call and setting up a visit,” Tolin said. “It really isn’t that much time in the grand scheme of things to make a difference in a child’s life.”
And it’s something that can be done even with other responsibilities, like a full-time job, family and other volunteer commitments. Aside from her family responsibilities, Tolin is a full-time nurse who also performs with Keith Owens as the country duo Southern Koast, which has been a part of the monthly Boomtown Opry series since May. Tolin also works with other community organizations, including the Union County Animal Protection Society, where she serves as a board member.
Tolin said she’d love to see a day when CASA has enough volunteers for every child who is in foster care in the area, but that is far from the case today.
“A lot of people don’t realize the sheer number of kids in foster care,” Tolin said. “It’s an important role for the kids that need it the most.”
In Union County, at the end of Arkansas’ 2018 fiscal year in June, there were 121 children in foster care.
Tolin and her family are helping to add to the list of volunteers available. She said her husband volunteers with her and both of her daughters have said they want to be involved when they turn 21.
Anyone interested in volunteering with CASA in the South Arkansas area should go to 13southcasa.com to download an application. For more information on the organization or volunteering, visit CASA’s Facebook page or call the office at 870-862-2272.
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].