I don't know for sure if CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) should receive $500,000 annually in state funding. I do know that CASA provides a fantastic service.
In short, CASA volunteers accompany children as they make their way through the foster care system. Foster children meet and interact with all kinds of people during their time in the system -- foster parents, guardians ad litem, case workers, parents' attorneys, and so on. Many of those faces change over time, and some change very frequently. For example, our case involved SIX different DHHS case workers just in the last 12 months before the adoption. Over the entire lifespan of the case there were something like two dozen people involved.
CASA's volunteers are a consistent presence through all of that. They provide consistency from one foster home to the next, from month to month and year to year. Our CASA volunteer provided critical insight into our case's history that nobody else could or would provide. She was a face our boys recognized from their first day in the system to their last.
Nebraska's child welfare system has oh-so-many weaknesses right now. Some of those are being worked on thanks to the Unicameral's tireless efforts (and no thanks to Governor Dave Heineman). Taxpayers have been asked to pay up a lot of money. Now LB126 asks for even more. Based on what I know about CASA, it seems like a bargain to me. Let your Senator know if you agree.
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