At CASA, child safety is a pillar of our advocacy blueprint. But what does that look like in action?
Quality and safety are cornerstone characteristics of CASA. To ensure that every child we serve receives the same standard of care, regardless of their circumstance, we follow a fully integrated system of procedures and protocols that support their best interest.
To see these guiding principles in action, we followed a day in the life of Greg, CASA’s Director of Quality & Safety:
This consistency isn’t about checking a box. It’s about creating a shared standard of expertise where warning signs are acknowledged, patterns are recognized, and every child receives the attention they need.
9:00 AM - Sifting
Greg's day doesn't start with a meeting. It starts with a queue.
“I log on to our database and read any new incident reports, plus any that have come back to me requiring further action.”
Incident reports are anchors in a system built on variables. These notes are filed by staff members when something on a case demands further attention. “We want to isolate incidents and address them with consistency,” Greg says.
The cause for filing an incident report varies. Policy violations, a child hospitalized with an injury, or a child displaying self-harming behaviors are all grounds for an incident report.
This consistency isn’t about checking a box. It’s about creating a shared standard of expertise where warning signs are acknowledged, patterns are recognized, and every child receives the attention they need.
11:00 AM - Staffing
Greg is responsible for leading a high-risk case staffing – a meeting with the child advocacy specialist, program manager, and the volunteer on a particularly sensitive situation. Grounds for prompting a high-risk case staffing might include domestic violence, runaway behaviors paired with the risk of exploitation, and a child without safe placement options.
Not every circumstance that necessitates high-risk staffing announces itself; “it's not always keywords we look for,” Greg clarifies. “More often, we're looking for specific situations. Self-harming behaviors are a major flag. We need to establish a baseline for addressing it and determine how protected that child actually is”.
The output of a high-risk case staffing is a plan. This is the moment when our team develops an actionable strategy to address the child’s safety needs.
The output of a high-risk case staffing is a plan. This is the moment when our team develops an actionable strategy to address the child’s safety needs.
Safety planning can also get literal: what should be locked, and who holds the key.
When suicidal ideation is present, Greg establishes that “at a minimum, we're going to advocate that sharp objects and medications get locked away.” If a home doesn't have the money for a lock box, we'll ensure one is provided.
1:00 PM - Vetting
Placement advocacy gets specific fast. A placement isn't approved arbitrarily, nor is it based on what sounds like a good fit. Instead, it's approved on hyper-specific details.
"The main thing to consider is who is [present], and who has access,” Greg states.
When the placement is family, Greg seeks clarity. By utilizing our standardized home assessment tool and conducting thorough conversations, we ensure the family is prepared to meet the child’s needs.
"The main thing to consider is who is [present], and who has access,” Greg states.
For group care settings, the questions change entirely. “I want to know what the staffing looks like. We want to know it's not one person with ten kids, because that person will be overwhelmed. We also ask about their policies on staff developing relationships with children.”
Initial approval isn't the end of it. "I'll do a compliance check – go into the database and see whether a facility has been cited for anything. That tells us whether it's well run, or whether there's a potential safety concern.”
After the reviews, meetings, and compliance checks, progress tends to announce itself quietly.
4:00 PM - Involvement
Quality assurance runs in both directions. Greg reviews volunteer files, too.
"If someone has violated a policy, I'm going to determine whether there's training to reiterate, policies they're not understanding, or boundaries they're pushing that they shouldn't be.”
END OF DAY - Progress
After the reviews, meetings, and compliance checks, progress tends to announce itself quietly.
"One indicator [of progress] is that we stop getting as many incident reports about whatever the issue was.”
Another positive sign is seeing how far the child[ren] have come. “We want to see them benefiting from the help they’re receiving – not just from CASA, but from the agencies we partner with."
Because every child we serve has unique needs, our safety blueprint is adaptive. And in his thirteen-year tenure, Greg’s day-to-day operations have become an essential infrastructure for sustaining it.
Interested in becoming a CASA volunteer? Submit your volunteer interest form here.
