It’s not like Sue Bieker had ample free time.
The San Diego employment law attorney maintained a law practice and was the mother of two children. But she knew she had a big heart for kids and that her son and daughter were now getting older.
A nexus happened when she heard about a remarkable San Diego organization fueled by volunteers which profoundly improves the outcome of the county’s 5,000 children in the foster care system called Voices for Children.
Help for these kids is desperately needed. Sue quickly learned that many foster kids, who on average enter the system at the age of 5, bounce constantly from foster home to group home sometimes more than 20 times in their dependency (and don’t live with one foster family as commonly perceived).
She saw the statistics resulting from the chaos of foster kids also being forced to change schools which results often with only half graduating from high school.
That often, siblings don’t get to live together in foster care. Or that a third may be homeless within three years after turning 18.
The terrible statistics continue for the children who typically enter foster care at age 5.
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These children who suffered so much at the hands of abusive and neglectful families are further victimized by a well-intentioned foster care system that is overburdened and broken.
Sue knew she had to get involved.
“I saw how important it is for these kids to have an advocate: somebody who's not being paid to provide services to them; someone who is there simply because they care," she said.
The first foster care children Sue helped were sisters, ages nine and 11, who had been pulled out of a home in San Diego.
“They were severely neglected. They faced all kinds of difficult things in their home-life whether it was drugs or prostitution. One of them had dealt with sexual molestation," she recalled.
As a CASA, Sue became the first consistent, caring adult in the girls’ lives. She learned everything about their needs, whether it was educational, medical, emotional or related to finding a safe, permanent home for them, the ultimate goal.
Sue then went to court (the legal guardian of all foster children) and advised a judge as to what might be best for the girls.
The observations and advice of CASAs are welcomed by judges, lawyers and social workers involved who all know the CASAs are champions of these kids. But of course, the kids are the biggest beneficiaries.
“Getting a CASA from Voices for Children is very prestigious for foster children. It means someone is going to be there and advocate on their behalf in court," said Voice for Children CEO Sharon Lawrence. "It means they are going to get out of where they are living whether it’s a group home or a foster family. Somebody is going to get their brothers and sisters together with them on a regular basis and it means somebody is going to be on their side helping them."
The results of having a CASA can be amazing. There are former foster children who are now teachers, business owners, lawyers, doctors, White House advisors, counselors and there many great parents. Because of the intervention of one volunteer trained and supported by Voices for Children, these young people are succeeding and not becoming casualties of a broken system.
As for the young sisters whom Sue started helping five years ago, they are still minors and are thriving too. Sue facilitated their placement together now in a safe and permanent home. Both are happy and both have a bright future.
For Sue, the experience was so rewarding that she is a CASA volunteer for a third time.
“It’s more gratifying I’m sure for the CASA than it is for the children because you get to see these children advance and you get to see them benefit! It really makes you feel like you’re are making a difference," she said.
Lawrence says it doesn’t take much time.
“It only takes about 10-15 hours a month, we train CASAs well and every volunteer has a paid, professional staff member to help guide them through the foster care system to problem solve and to celebrate the successes together. I say to anyone who is interested ‘It’s not that hard and it can be life changing for you and for the children you serve,’" Lawrence said.
No legal background is required. Only a good heart.
