COEUR d'ALENE - It might not seem that important, a waiting room.

But it really depends on what you're waiting for.

For children who filter through the Juvenile Justice Center on Lakeside Avenue, most are waiting for a judge to decide whether they will be adopted, or taken from their parents, or sentenced for delinquent behavior.

So passing the time isn't easy.

"There are a lot of kids coming to court. They might be there to observe, they might be there to testify," said Karlene Behringer, trial court administrator. "It's unnerving for an adult, so I think it would be very unnerving to a child, to walk into a courtroom with a bunch of adults and not really know what's going on."

Mindful of the stress these kids face, nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates recently galvanized volunteers from across the community to make over the children's court waiting room in the JJC.

Kids need a therapeutic space to feel calm and safe, explained CASA Executive Director Sandra Gunn, while their futures are being weighed in a nearby courtroom.

"It makes the experience a little more uplifting for kids," Gunn said.

Not much had been added to the small room by the security station since Kootenai County assumed control of the historic Fourth Street building in December 2009.

There was a donated couch, Gunn said, some books and stuffed animals.

"It didn't have a warm approach," she said. "I believe there's no small task that goes unnoticed by children."

Gunn learned that the JJC lacked the funds to renovate the space.

So with the help of local nonprofits, businesses and individuals, CASA worked the room over. Renewed Consignment provided refurbished furniture, and United Way helped with painting. Chaplain Jeff Cheeseborough donated artwork. Entities like St. Vincent de Paul, Big Lots and the Paris Flea Market also pitched in.

Now the room has bright, vivid artwork, comfortable and beautiful furniture, a giant bean bag Shrek sitting on a rocking chair. There's a horde of stuffed animals, coloring books, plus a chalkboard wall and a bookshelf with contents ranging from picture books to "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Every child is allowed to take home a book and a stuffed animal.

Transforming the room took about five months, Gunn estimated.

"It was just a labor of love," she said.

The county commissioners appreciate gaining a court refuge for the children at no cost to taxpayers, said Commissioner Jai Nelson.

"It's a great place to segregate them and keep them in a safe place," said Nelson, who was a CASA volunteer for several years. "I thought it was really, really thoughtful of all the individuals and I'm just really grateful for CASA and Sandra Gunn."

The county court system had long been in need of a waiting room strictly for children, Behringer noted.

No such privacy was available a few years back, she said, when children's court cases were held in the county Justice Building.

As court work transpired, children waited in the halls amidst the traffic of adults and attorneys, she said, "like a cattle call." Or they sat in a courtroom, sometimes near an adult figure who had posed them harm.

"There were times you'd have the children and maybe certain family members that were on opposite sides of a court case, sitting next to each other on a bench," Behringer said. "There were a lot of situations not very good for the kids."

She has heard nothing but positive reviews of the new children's waiting room, she added, which remains locked so only children are allowed in.

"If there's a situation where a CASA or Health and Welfare worker or the child's attorney needs to talk to them, they could so privately in there, as well," she added.

But mostly kids are just jazzed to color, read and mess around with chalk, said Charles Rodriguez, security guard at JJC, before they're escorted to a more somber setting.

"They love it. They can relax before they go into court," he said. "It's a good sanctuary for the kids."