CASA for Kids of Flathead County is marking 25 years of working to improve the lives of abused and neglected children across the valley. 

CASA, which stands for court appointed special advocate, is a national network of trained volunteers in 48 states appointed by judges to advocate for abused and neglected children, from infants to 18-year-olds, in the child welfare system. 

Advocates are tasked with investigating a case, which includes learning the child's needs and wishes by meeting with them regularly and gathering information from the people involved in their life such as parents, other family members, foster caregivers, teachers, doctors, therapists and attorneys. They also monitor compliance with court orders and observe court proceedings. 

Advocates then report their findings to judges and make recommendations based on the child's best interests. Judges use that information, along with other evidence in each case, when making decisions for the child.  

CASA for Kids of Flathead County's new Executive Director Rachelle Buckley described the nonprofit as part of the court process but operates independently of Montana's Child and Family Services Division. 

"So, our team here recruits and trains and supervises advocates who go out and act in the best interest of the child," Buckley said. 

Under state law, in court cases where a child is alleged to be abused or neglected, a trained and vetted volunteer special advocate must be appointed.  

EIGHTY VOLUNTEERS currently serve 116 children in the Flathead Valley, Sweeney said. Advocates are matched with cases in which their skills can benefit a child the most. 

"Our community has really stepped up for this demographic and so often, we have a CASA assigned to every single case very quickly, which is really the gold standard," Buckley said.   

Unlike social workers or attorneys, advocates are generally assigned a limited number of cases, allowing them to dedicate more time to learning the details of a child's situation, Buckley said. 

"That's why CASA can be so effective is that we have one person assigned to one case, whereas a social worker might have 15 to 20 cases, maybe more," Buckley said.   

Once appointed, advocates are asked to remain with a case until a child has a safe, permanent placement. That outcome may be reunification with parents, adoption or another arrangement. 

"We're specifically for the child, right? But what we know is that kids often do better when they can reunify with family, and so that really does mean we have to be for the families as well," Buckley said, later adding, "How do we find a way for them to find safety and meet the thresholds for reunification through work with the department, through work with service providers, those types of things?" 

A background in child welfare or law is not required to serve as a court appointed advocate, Buckley and CASA for Kids of Flathead County Lead Trainer and Advocate Supervisor Steve Caro said.  

"We want community members that are going to come into this and look at it from an objective perspective," Buckley said.   

Caro said the program wants advocates who are a good fit for the children they serve, and that CASA for Kids of Flathead County continues to seek a diverse pool of volunteers, including more men. 

TO BE a volunteer advocate takes dedication and commitment to improving the lives of the valley's most vulnerable children.  

"They can come in the door and say I want to do it — but it's a process," Caro said. 

Caro said the process begins with an application, interview and reference and background checks. Prospective advocates then complete 56 hours of training, CASA for Kids of Flathead County Advocacy Program Manager Julia Sweeney said. Training is held in the fall and spring. There are five volunteers going through the fall training, including Buckley, who joined the staff in July. 

Candidates who complete the training take the final step of appearing before a judge and taking an oath, Sweeney and Caro said. 

"We're pretty discerning," Buckley said. "We want to make sure that these are safe, appropriate people for these kids because they are at risk and are in already difficult situations." 

Advocates must complete 15 hours of ongoing training each year. Caro said they can meet the requirement by attending monthly presentations in Kalispell or reading a book on relevant topics such as child abuse. 

CASAs are expected to stay on a case until the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. Staff said the length of a case can vary from a few months to several years, depending on the circumstances and whether a child is reunified with family, is adopted or reaches another permanent outcome. Cases are closed within a year and a half on average, according to the organization.  

"We like the advocates to stay with their children through the entire case because social workers change, schools change, placements change, and so if that one constant can just follow the child wherever they go, that is the ideal situation," Sweeney said. 

That consistency is central to the value CASAs provide in the lives of vulnerable children, Buckley noted. 

"Some of these kids have had three or four different schools, five or six different placements, four or five different social workers — but they've had one CASA the whole time," she said. 

"... which is part of the reason why we can really impact outcomes and really shape the lives of these kids," she added. 

With the intense and serious nature of the work involved, CASA staff are employed not just to recruit, train and supervise volunteers, but to support advocates as they work through difficult cases. Advocates can also lean on experienced advocates who help coach new volunteers. 

Advocate and retired teacher Elizabeth Siblerud has provided that continuity for 12 years. She typically is assigned one case at a time but has worked on a few cases at once. Her longest case lasted 4 1/2 years.  

"It can be very challenging just navigating through the hardest seasons of kids' lives, but you have to really focus on the celebrations," Siblerud said.  

"It's really a wonderful thing to be able to help a child on your street, or in your neighborhood and in the valley. Helping them get to a place where they're safe and happy — that's the win." 

Similarly, advocate and retired Creston School Principal Judi Hewitt has served as a CASA for 11 years after learning about the program from Siblerud.  

"After working with kids for 26 years, I knew I wanted to keep working with children, and I knew I wanted to do something that was a benefit to the community," Hewitt said. 

During her tenure, Hewitt has seen children reach permanent placements. She has also seen how difficult it can be for families to leave the child welfare system behind. 

“When it works out and the child is reunited with their family or adopted by someone who really wants children, that’s really wonderful when that happens,” she said. 

BUCKLEY, A Flathead Valley native, took the position at CASA for Kids of Flathead County after serving as the executive director of the Sparrow's Nest of Northwest Montana, a Kalispell-based nonprofit that provides safe housing for unaccompanied, homeless teens in Flathead County.  

She said the position brings together different parts of her career, including previous work as a child protective services intake worker investigating child abuse for the state. 

"I love CASA, I love what they do. I have a huge heart for kids in general. I think that's kind of evident through all the things I've done in my career," Buckley said. 

One of her goals in the position is to strengthen support for teens aging out of the foster care system through programs like the nonprofit's Focus program, to teach life skills, do team building, organize monthly activities and connect youth to community resources as they transition into adulthood. 

“And that's something that I hope to impact here at CASA as well, is to really start to put more focus on these kids that are aging out of the system, growing older in the system,” Buckley said.   

As the organization opens its next chapter, Buckley said CASA is building on a foundation of strong community support. In August and September, CASA for Kids of Flathead County netted $223,925 in donations during the Great Fish Community Challenge organized through the Whitefish Community Foundation. 

"I think we have an incredible reputation in this community, and that was built by the people that came before me, and these guys have contributed to that —" she said glancing over at Caro and Sweeney — "and we're excited for the next 25 years."  

For more information or to donate, visit flatheadcasa.org or call 406-755-7208. 

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 406-758-4431 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.

    CASA for Kids of Flathead County marks 25 years of advocating for children in the valley. A window display at the nonprofit shows some of the volunteer court appointed special advocates over the years. (Hilary Matheson/Daily Inter Lake)