Dec 16, 2018 4 min read

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The witness stand can be intimidating for anyone, especially children in already vulnerable situations.

In Greene County, the 155 children who are dependents of the court and likely to find themselves before a judge, will now have a specialized advocate to make the process less daunting.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) will support youngsters in the child welfare system, being their voice and guiding them through the court process. Eight volunteer CASAs were sworn in by Judge Farley Toothman, marking the first group in Greene to take part in the national program.

“CASA is part of the solution to build a more perfect county,” Toothman said, holding back tears at the swearing-in ceremony. “As volunteers, (CASAs) provide consistent adult presence until the child has a permanent home.”

“CASA’s main goal is to reunify: to get a safe and permanent home for a child who’s been in a previously abusive or neglectful situation,” said Becca Matchett, the program director for CASA of Greene County. “Volunteers go to foster care or homes and get to know the child and then be the voice for them. We are the ears and the eyes of the court.”

Stacey Courtwright, director of Greene County Children and Youth Services, said 116 of the county’s dependent children are in foster care, with most there because of parental drug abuse. The remaining 39 children are considered dependants, but haven’t been removed from their homes, she said.

“We have one of the highest placement numbers in the state per capita,” Courtwright said.

From 2012 to 2016, there was an 80 percent increase in reports of suspected child abuse and neglect in Greene County, according to Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a nonprofit, nonpartisan and statewide advocacy group.

Matchett and Toothman will go over the cases together, prioritizing the most critical ones and pairing children with one of the volunteers. Both Matchett and the CASA will attend every court hearing for the child and support him or her in and out of the courtroom.

Matchett noted, among this first class of volunteers, there is a Spanish-speaking volunteer, one fluent in American Sign Language, parents, nonparents, recent college graduates and those in retirement. Matchett said her goal is to one day have enough volunteers to cover every child abuse and neglect case in the county.

“We will be matching these volunteers to cases immediately,” Matchett said. “The diversity (in volunteers) allows me to match them to specific cases.”

One of the things the CASAs will try to help curtail is re-entry into the child welfare system once a child is come out of it. Matchett said the re-entry rate is high in Greene. Through their involvement with the children and families, CASAs will “ensure the child is ready to go home and the parents are ready to accept that child,” Matchett said.

This class of volunteers is the result of over a year of planning and recruiting by the CASA for Greene County Board of Directors. The board held information sessions and used social media to recruit volunteers.

Once this set of volunteers begin their work, Matchett said she will focus on further recruitment and training. She anticipated a training session for additional CASAs in the spring.

The CASA office will be in a donated space within the Fort Jackson Building. However, the space isn’t available yet, so the program is operating out of the courthouse.

“It’s a fantastic program and an excellent tool for the court system and CYS as well,” Matchett said. “I’m incredibly confident it will bring positive change to Greene County and make a difference for children in this vulnerable state.”

Those interested in becoming a volunteer can call Matchett at 724-833-2615 or email greenecountycasa@gmail.com. For more information on CASA of Greene County, visit its Facebook page: facebook.com/greenecountycasa.