CASA has a pressing demand for additional volunteers who are fluent in Spanish to better serve children and their families.
Forty-nine percent of the children CASA served in 2022 identified as Latinx or Hispanic. Many of the families speak Spanish only. However, there is often no legal or social service professional on the case who speaks Spanish. This dynamic often leads to miscommunication, confusion, and added stress for families.
The Spanish-speaking team brings cultural interpretations to protocols like a home study, which CPS uses in assessing the home where a child will be placed to secure a safe and available space.
About a year ago, Program Manager Gladys set out to change that. CASA has offered Spanish-speaking support from volunteers and staff for years, but she had the idea to form an official Spanish-speaking team. She mentioned it to a longtime Child Advocacy Specialist who was bilingual, and "it took off from there," Gladys said.
Gladys said the cultural understanding and knowledge of traditions common in Latinx culture enhances relationships between CASA and children and their families even more. There's also a better chance that the CASA volunteer will be able to build trust with the family if they speak in their native language. As a result, the team of advocates can achieve one of CASA's primary goals: to provide effective and equitable advocacy for every child we serve.
For example, the team brings a cultural interpretation to protocols like a home study, which CPS uses in assessing the home where a child will be placed to secure a safe and available space. In some cases, CPS will deny a home study due to too many people living there, despite other characteristics that make this a suitable placement. In Latinx families, it is sometimes a cultural norm in the community to see households with multiple generations living in the same house.
After authentically connecting with the family through common language, Spanish-speaking CASA volunteers can appropriately reinforce that a placement is in the child's best interest despite the number of people living in the house. Most of the time, Gladys says, the judge agrees and orders the placement.
The Spanish-speaking team has also developed knowledge of complex immigration laws that affect some families. When Child Advocacy Specialists from other teams encounter these situations, "it gives them somewhere to go for guidance rather than starting from the ground up,” Gladys said.
"The culture and dynamic of having a CASA who is Latinx and understands the culture is great for families," she said. "It makes our advocacy better, and it's changed the direction we are going in."
Looking back on the influence of the Spanish-speaking team in just one year, Gladys said it has benefited both the children CASA serves and the support Child Advocacy Specialists have available to them.
"The culture and dynamic of having a CASA who is Latinx and understands the culture is great for families," she said. "It makes our advocacy better, and it's changed the direction we are going in."
We are seeking volunteers who speak Spanish to support children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Learn more about how you can become a CASA volunteer today at www.casatravis.org/volunteer.
