By: Diane Benjamin
Become a Court Appointed Special Advocate! (CASA)
See details on the McLean county website:
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/index.aspx?NID=422
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By: Diane Benjamin
Become a Court Appointed Special Advocate! (CASA)
See details on the McLean county website:https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/index.aspx?NID=422
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Thank you so much for sharing this Diane. The McLean County CASA is a wonderful program and needs more strong advocates for the children they serve.
Tami Wacker, Director of Program Development
Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates
Diane, I’m glad you are highlighting this program!
Please be mindful that this is not for the faint of heart. While I appreciate you highlighting this program, many people go into it with very high expectations that they’re going to be a conduit of change in the child welfare system. It’s not what you think it is and if that’s your expectation you’ll get discouraged in a hurry. This system is broken because we’re working with broken people, broken officials who are working in a broken state.
I did it after being a foster parent. We were done with that and I thought that being a CASA would be a good transition from foster parenting. I’m burned out on both.
I don’t want to discourage anyone, but having been there, done that I can tell you it’s a long, frustrating and discouraging journey. Do I regret doing it? Not at all. But, I’m done. I just can’t do it any more. This department is getting worse in our state not better because the problems are getting worse. Illinois has completely, totally sold itself out as a welfare state and you will see it through DCFS more than anywhere else. I’d like to think I was part of the solution and not part of the problem. But, the problems are getting bigger year after year. So overwhelming that I just couldn’t do it any more.
One more thing I want to say here. I’m sorry to hear about the bad experiences that have been reported on this site with the McLean Co court system. My issues were not with them at all and I’m hesitant to point fingers. Judge Fitzgerald and Judge Goldrick are good men who truly care about kids and foster parents. There’s a lot they have to work through that’s very difficult and hard for the court system. These issues are not easy to work through and often they don’t have the outcomes that even they themselves would like to see. It’s what makes this so difficult. It’s often difficult to predict outcomes, too. The goal of the court is always reunification and even CASA workers must agree to that. That’s not an easy road to go down.
Re-unification is the hoped for outcome. Sadly, the state and feds want that to be the outcome. The states priorities are to please the feds, who give them the money.