Illinois Advocates For Child Welfare Cases Receive First-Ever State Funding

For the first time, the Illinois budget includes funding for volunteer advocates who look out for children involved with the state’s child welfare system. The CASA advocate program in Champaign County will use its share of the money to expand.

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. The Champaign County CASA program has about 120 advocates for some 250 child welfare cases, involving nearly 400 children.

Champaign County CASA Executive Director Rush Record said the children are those who have been removed from their home and involved with a social service agency, most commonly the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

The volunteer advocates provided through the CASA program are appointed by a court to serve as a child’s guardian ad litem (“for the suit”) for the duration of a child welfare case.

“What our folks do is help to make sure that kids’ best interests are being met, that their services are being provided, that they’re placed in a safe and appropriate home for them,” said Record.

CASA programs exist in 49 states and the District of Columbia, and Record says most states provide some funding for them. But the $2,885,000 awarded to Illinois CASA programs for the current fiscal year (FY 2020) is a first for Illinois. Up to now, Champaign County CASA has received money from the county court system, competitive grants, and through fundraising activities, such as a “CASAblanca” dinner event planned for October at the iHotel in Champaign.

Record said he expects Champaign County CASA’s share of the state funding to be just under $100,000, which will augment their operating budget of around $600,000. He says they will use part of the state funding to beef up recruitment and training of CASA volunteers.

“Our goal is to attract even more advocates to get them trained and in the system to work on behalf of the kids,” said Record.

Champaign County CASA also hires attorneys to provide court representation for children in child welfare cases. But the CASA advocates are unpaid volunteers, which Record says has advantages, including the ability to remain “unbiased third parties” in their work on behalf of children.

“Because they are volunteers and from all different walks of life. It just brings a different kind of perspective to the court system,” said Record. “To have folks that aren’t tied to numbers or funding bring opinions to the court, that seems to work really well.”

Record said volunteers for the CASA program receive extensive training, but no special background is required, except that applicants be 21 or older. He also suggested that those seeking to join the CASA program be ready to make a two-year committment, since that's the average time it takes for a child welfare case to go through the system.

Illinois has 31 local CASA programs around the state, including ones based in Danville, Charleston and Decatur. Record said some Illinois counties --- including Ford, Douglas and Piatt --- don’t have CASA programs. He said the programs are only established with a court’s authorization, but thinks all of Illinois could benefit from them.