by Sara Blake
While a legal background is certainly not a necessity to become a CASA volunteer, for CASA Advocate Kristi, it has proven to be an asset. Originally from San Francisco, Kristi moved to the East Coast to attend Wellesley College, where she studied Mandarin and Chinese Literature. After completing law school with a degree in Environmental Law, Kristi found herself back west in Portland, Oregon.
“My first encounter with CASA was fresh out of law school while working for a judge at a county courthouse. We saw a lot of family court cases. I clearly remember my surprise when I realized the CASA advocates were volunteers, not paid staff,” Kristi reflects. “In one case, the CASA volunteer was the only person in the courtroom who had even talked to the child recently.”
Kristi began to work in civil rights law and was appointed to the parole board. During this time, she and her partner decided to become foster parents. They became certified and fostered a teen girl for about a year.
Kristi even found herself with time to volunteer, and “CASA was the first thing I applied for,” she says.
After ten years of varying roles in the legal system, Kristi felt burnt out. Around the same time, her partner’s family needed additional support back in Texas, so they decided to make a change. After working for the sheriff’s office and getting established in the community, Kristi decided to take some time off to help care for her partner’s sister while figuring out her own next steps. She decided to foray into Children’s Library Services, which was a personal passion and afforded her a much better work/life balance. Kristi even found herself with time to volunteer, and “CASA was the first thing I applied for,” she says.
While some aspects of training were review for Kristi, she was impressed with the depth and thoughtfulness that went into it. “Training really highlighted the gravity of the work we were taking on,” Kristi remembers. “And from the beginning CASA made sure the volunteers knew our time was valuable.”
Kristi’s first case was supposed to be helping wrap up the adoption of a young teen. Sadly, the placement fell through. And Kristi learned that this was not the first time someone had changed their mind about her; a family she had lived with as a toddler had also relinquished her to the state years later. “I realized she feels like she has been given up on three times at this point,” Kristi says. “Of course she wasn’t going to be okay. Of course she was going to struggle in school. Because she needs to know she is chosen by someone.”
As she began to get to know her, Kristi learned to read the silences almost more than the words. “She rarely opened up about feeling bad; she only opened up when things were good,” she describes. “But she is the best kid. Everyone who meets her connects with her, and she has so many people sticking up for her.”
However, as Kristi points out, those people are professionals: A CPS worker, a lawyer, CASA, the congregate care placement, etc. That’s still a very lonely place to be. “She’s so adapted to the system that normalcy almost doesn’t exist for her. The place she feels the safest may look very abnormal to other people.”
What happened next was a shock to Kristi. A single woman in her 60’s had met this girl at an adoption event two years prior. “At first, I honestly had a hard time believing she was genuine. I knew how often she had been let down and abandoned in the past, and I didn’t want her to get hurt again” Kristi says.
“There is something magical about this being a volunteer role. About a kid seeing that ‘hey, I have hope for you and want to be here for you.’ I noticed this when I first heard about CASA – like wow, society is coming together to make a terrible thing a little bit better. And today I just feel so honored to be in this role.”
But as Kristi describes, the woman made it clear she would do whatever it takes. “She changed her life specifically to fit into hers, instead of the other way around. She took teen parenting classes. She began attending a Latinx church so she would feel more comfortable. She knew she loved volleyball, so she found a team near her that she could join. She just won all our respect,” Kristi says, smiling. “She did the work, and the case ended so beautifully and with so much hope.”
“This case really made me see that we all have biases. I have a lot of wariness based on my experience in the prison reform and foster care system. I’m admittedly cynical about people’s motivations. But that’s why CASA is so important,” says Kristi. “There is something magical about this being a volunteer role. About a kid seeing that ‘hey, I have hope for you and want to be here for you.’ I noticed this when I first heard about CASA – like wow, society is coming together to make a terrible thing a little bit better. And today I just feel so honored to be in this role.”
Kristi is fiercely aware of the significance of her role. “There is so much trust being put in you. I put a lot of weight into these relationships with kids, mentoring, at work, and as a CASA volunteer,” she says. “I understand that it is a mutual agreement. If you can trust me, I promise to show up for you.”
One of the most encouraging parts of Kristi’s CASA experience has been the support she feels. “My supervisor cares about this kid as much as I do. There was a month I was sick and I felt terrible that I couldn’t get to her, but CASA stepped right in for me. CASA is designed as a supportive, collaborative system. You are never alone in the process.”
Kristi is fiercely aware of the significance of her role. “There is so much trust being put in you. I put a lot of weight into these relationships with kids, mentoring, at work, and as a CASA volunteer,” she says. “I understand that it is a mutual agreement. If you can trust me, I promise to show up for you.”
