ADVOCACY TIPS

ADVOCACY TIPS

Every so often, the CASA staff will suggest advocacy tips to be posted on the website. Keep checking back!

SEE YOUR CASA CHILD MONTHLY!
Seeing your CASA child face-to-face on a monthly basis is important! Of course, any contact including phone calls and written communication can be meaningful and is encouraged. But face-to-face contact reigns supreme. You serve as that caring and consistent adult presence as our children are encountering the dynamics of the foster care system. Monthly face-to-face contact is the best way to get to know your CASA child and his or her needs.

CONFIDENTIALITY
As a CASA volunteer, you have access to confidential information about children and people involved in those children’s lives. The CASA volunteer may not release this information except to the child, CASA program staff, the child’s attorney, DCFS caseworker, and the court.
  • When sharing information with the child, consider what is appropriate and the child’s age and developmental level.
  • DCFS records are confidential. It is especially important that the name of any person who has made a report of suspected child abuse and neglect not be revealed.
  • Foster parents have a contractual relationship with DCFS. As the CASA volunteer, you are not the foster parent’s source of information about the case. Their source is the caseworker.
  • You are not the parent’s source of information about the case. Their source is the caseworker or their attorney.
Except for the judge, CASA staff, DCFS staff and the child’s attorney, make it a personal policy not to share information or tell people what someone else has told you.
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