White and Van Buren Counties launching a new Court Appointed Special Advocates program to provide foster children with dedicated volunteers.
General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge John Meadows said the non-profit organization recruits and trains community members to serve as representatives for children in state custody and represent their best interests throughout the legal process. Meadows said the program received approval to begin operations this spring after the local expansion process started last fall.
“Their role will be to advocate for the child that they are assigned to, which would involve speaking, having lots of communication with the child, with the caseworkers that are involved with the child, with the school teachers, doctors, physicians, counselors and they’ll sort of be an extra set of eyes and ears for the court to stay with those children that they’re assigned to,” Meadows said.
Meadows said the organization has secured office space in White County and hired Rachel Honecker to serve as the program coordinator. Meadows said prospective advocates must complete an application process, pass background checks, and finish at least 30 hours of intensive training.
“It’s important to have somebody assigned to each child to make sure to follow that child throughout the case, the life of the case, so at least the child knows there’s at least one person who’s dedicated to advocating for that child, someone that will be with them from the beginning of the case until the case ends,” Meadows said. “So that’s important.”
Meadows said the juvenile court dockets in both counties currently include approximately 100 children in foster care. Meadows said the Department of Children’s Services is often overwhelmed by the volume of cases involving drug exposure, physical abuse, and neglect.
“Some of the hardest decisions I have to make as a judge has to do with these children and making sure that they’re in appropriate placements,” Meadows said.
Meadows said the program helps ensure children have stability when they are moved between different foster homes or assigned to new caseworkers. Meadows said the advocates will attend all court appearances and submit formal reports to the court regarding the child’s needs.
“They’ll be somebody that the child can call, somebody that the child can develop a relationship with, establish rapport and trust with so that they’ll be able to freely communicate with each other to make sure that all their needs are being met,” Meadows said.
Meadows said the program recently held its inaugural fundraiser to secure the necessary operational funds.
“I think it will be good for our community,” Meadows said. “I think it’ll be good for the children from our communities that are placed in state custody. Again, I’m excited about it. I’m looking forward to having some graduates from the training course so that we can start appointing advocates to children.”
The program is currently seeking local volunteers to begin the upcoming advocate training course.
