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The CASA Volunteer
Salute Inside This Issue Chief
Judge Judith S. Kaye Commends CASA Programs Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye Commends CASA Programs In her annual State of the Judiciary Address delivered in Albany on February 9th, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye committed to forming a work group to explore the expansion of the CASA program across New York State. Commending the work of CASA volunteers, Judge Kaye stated, "we appreciate all the help we can get, chief among them the Court Appointed Special Advocates - CASA, a national program of trained volunteers who spend time with a child and just about anyone who has contact with that child, and then report their findings to the Family Court Judge who must decide whether the child can safely be returned home." Judge Kaye commented that "CASA is a wonderful example of how ordinary citizens can contribute to the well-being of their communities by brightening the future, one child at a time." She also noted that, "just the other day, in a newspaper report, Monroe County Family Court Judge Anthony Sciolino summed up how our Family Court Judges feel about CASA: 'We couldn't do our jobs without people like you.'" Recognizing that in 2003 there were more than 800,000 family case filings, showing a steady increase over previous years, and while acknowledging the good work CASA programs accomplish, she also noted the need for expanded services. "Terrific as they are, CASA programs serve barely one-third of New York's 62 counties," she said. As a result, a group of current and former Family Court judges and administrators, including Sheryl Dicker, Executive Director of Judge Kaye's Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, has been convened to study the CASA program and make recommendations about the program's growth "so that no child waits a minute longer than absolutely necessary before being placed in, or returned to, a safe and loving home." CASANYS will work with the Permanent Judicial Commission and the Office of Court Administration to support the work group's efforts and help implement its recommendations. Judge Kaye's address highlighted a number of other initiatives improving the lives of New York State's children, including other projects the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children is working on focusing on the health, education and developmental needs of children. She also noted efforts such as Adoption Now, Parent Education Advisory Boards, innovations in matrimonial litigation, the E-Petition Project, the NYC "Blueprint for Change", and Integrated Domestic Violence courts. Judge Kaye asserts that "nowhere is the challenge of societal change greater for us today than with respect to families." For the full text of the speech, visit http://www.courts.state.ny.us/ctapps/soj.htm.
In the early 1990s, advocates for persons with mental illness had a formidable task: convincing the state that the population it thought it was serving had dramatically changed over the years. State and county mental health services for adults were originally designed, by and large, to assist single adult males, generally with diagnoses of a "serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI)." What had happened over the years, particularly after the deinstitutionalization movement, was that increasingly the individuals requesting services were parents, many of them single women with children under the age of six. It was finally the numbers that got the attention of policy makers: 24% of adults diagnosed as SPMI treated by the public mental health system alone had children under age 18; of that group, 45% of females under age 35 had young children. 16% of children in foster care had a parent with a psychiatric disability, as did 21% of children receiving prevention services. Yet few programs offered support and treatment services that provided for both the needs of the parents and the children. At that time, the state's psychiatric centers intake form did not even include the question: "Do you have children?" Families with a parent diagnosed with a psychiatric disability were ending up in the social service system, the children being removed to foster care. They were ending up in Family Court, with judges frustrated by a lack of good community-based resources to ensure the safety of the children and to provide support to parents. Parents were distraught that they were separated from their children and then expected to recover from symptoms of mental illness, often in programs that did not even acknowledge their role as a parent or the intense grief they were experiencing at the threatened loss of their family. A joint Office of Mental Health and Department of Social Services Task Force was formed to address this issue, and hearings were held around the state. An advocacy project was funded at the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS), with an Advisory Group drawing together parents, service providers, governmental representatives, advocates and legal services providers. After years of meetings, trainings, hearings, letters and publications, the systems began to change. Model programs were funded, and success stories began to emerge. The project identified as a priority the number of parents with psychiatric disabilities involved in the Family Court system. As CASA knows, on a good day, being involved in a court proceeding can be daunting. To a young, single mother who may have her own trauma history, a diagnosis of depression, experience with domestic violence, and no financial resources - by far the most common profile of the parent seen by the project - a court appearance that held the threat of losing her child was an insurmountable obstacle. Her love of her child, desire to take good care of that child, and interest in her own personal healing became buried under anxiety, confusion and grief, often manifesting itself as anger toward some of the same individuals attempting to help. To assist these families and facilitate family stability and reunification where possible, a parent's guide to family court for parents with psychiatric disabilities was written and disseminated statewide. When a copy landed at Albany County Family Court, the MHANYS project received a call ordering a box of them. The publication is still available for download on MHANYS' website at www.mhanys.org. Despite efforts of many dedicated individuals, successful model programs, and deep systemic change, many challenges remain. We still live in a culture that is ignorant about and fearful of mental illness. We still want to protect children and provide them with the most nurturing and stable home possible, and a parent's psychiatric disability can raise both realistic concerns in that area, as well as prejudice. Reactive service plans can, and have, made a bad situation worse. And not responding can, and has, put children at risk and led to parental decompensation. As we move forward, it is important to remember that a parent with a psychiatric disability is first and foremost a parent. If you are a parent, you know that nothing in your life is unaffected by that role. Whatever help and support we offer families impacted by mental illness, we need to honor that priority. More research, more respectful and supportive programs, and most of all, more awareness of the issue will help us with that goal.
Something
in the annual appeal letter from Genesee County CASA caught the
eye of Alfred (Butch) Coglitore of LeRoy Motors. He decided to not
only contribute financially, but use the visibility of his business
to publicize the work of CASA in Genesee County. He sold Christmas
trees in front of his dealership and donated $50 for every car sold
during the month of December. CASA received over $3,000! Thank you to LeRoy Motors! We appreciate your support and generosity!
In 1991, under the leadership of Lucinda Sloan Mallen, the Mental Health Association in Orange County, Inc. embarked on a deliberate strategic effort to raise awareness of the issue of parents with a diagnosis of mental illness and their minor children. This passionate advocacy has influenced policy makers at the local, state, and national levels, resulting in systemic change and the development of the model program, the Invisible Children's Project. The program's central focus is to empower parents and give them the necessary support to create a safe and nurturing environment for their children. Many of the parents seek assistance with prevention of foster care as well as seeking custody of children who have been lost to the foster care system. The primary objective of the Invisible Children's Project is to support parents with a diagnosis of a mental illness in their efforts to be the best parent they can be while keeping the family unit together. Many families that work with the Invisible Children's Project are at risk for having their children placed in foster care. This often is a concern that supersedes all other issues in a parent's mind. In order to prevent placement it is important to understand the nature of risk children may be subjected to. A parental mental illness is a risk factor that may lead to foster care placement for a child. The role of the Invisible Children's Project is to provide the support and links to community resources to help reduce risk and therefore increase the chances for the parent and family's success. Since
1993, the Invisible Children's Project has served over 500 men,
women, and children. One parent in the program states "therapy
and medication played a part in my recovery, but the Invisible Children's
Project is a miraculous gift from God, which is directly responsible
for giving me and my children our lives back."
North Central Region (includes the Counties of: Clinton, Franklin, Essex, St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Herkimer, and Hamilton). Contact Bonnie Newell, (518) 891-0504. South Central Region (includes the Counties of: Oswego, Onieda, Cayuga, Cortland, Broome, Delaware, Schoharie, Otsego, Chenango, Madison, Onondaga, and Fulton/Montgomery) Northern Hudson Region (includes the Counties of: Warren, Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Albany, Greene, and Columbia). Contact Jennifer Best, (518) 435-9931 ext. 264. Southern Hudson Region (includes the Counties of: Ulster, Dutchess, Sullivan, Orange, Putnam, New York City, Nassau, and Suffolk). Contact Barbara Callahan, (845) 454-8692. North Western Region (includes the Counties of: Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Monroe, Orleans, Genesee, Seneca and Niagara). Contact Renee Jacobs, (585) 325-3145 ext. 33, rjacobs@mharochester.org. South Western Region (includes the Counties of: Erie, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, Schuyler, Tompkins, Yates, Chemung, and Tioga). Contact Beth Jenkins, (607) 273-9250. For more information, contact Helena Davis at MHANYS at (518)434-0439.
Many young and middle-aged adults with serious mental illness are bearing children. Several studies show that American women with serious mental illness bear children at rates similar to that of the general population. Researchers have shown that motherhood is a valued and motivating life role for women with serious mental illness. And, although there is agreement that parenting is a major adult role and that mental health services should provide opportunities and support for functioning in major adult roles, mental health systems have been slow to deliver services that support functioning in the parenting role. Most mental health service systems do not collect information on the parenting status of the service recipient. As a consequence, families and children suffer from the lack of support and preventive family services. This results in children of individuals with psychiatric disabilities being removed from their home and placed in protective services at a much higher rate than that of similar demographic populations. Children of individuals with psychiatric disabilities are removed from their families at rates up to 80%, according to some sources (Blanch and Purcell, 1993; Blanch et al., 1994). In fact, many individuals describe their serious mental illness as a litmus test during custody disputes in family court. Once an individual is labeled as mentally ill, their odds of retaining custody of their children are likely to be reduced. Several studies cite mental health issues among the most complicating factors in reunifying children with their biological families (National Research council on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1993). Mental health advocates fear that, under the Adoptions and Safe Families Act (ASFA), the increasingly stringent time lines for reunification of children with their biological parents, and the 18 month time frame to relinquish parental rights is especially threatening to parents with serious mental illness. Given the current service system gaps in their care and family support, it may not be possible to attain psychiatric and family stability within this time frame. These families face additional challenges because child and family services are ill-equipped to support the special needs of parents with serious mental illness, including the need for parenting support. CASA volunteers can be especially helpful in supporting families in which a parent is diagnosed with serious mental illness. CASA volunteers can work with families and service providers to insure that the parent is receiving support with both their mental health and parenting needs. Many children of individuals with serious mental illness are taken into custody when the parent seeks inpatient hospitalization, because the parent doesn't have anyone to care for them. CASA volunteers may assist these families in preparing a directive plan designating someone to care for the children in case of such an emergency and, thus, help prevent foster placement. Also, CASA volunteers can educate judges and child welfare workers about individuals with serious mental illness, specifically that these individuals often have a great desire to be effective parents. Although it may take a little longer for someone with a psychiatric disability to receive all the services needed to learn the necessary skills, the desire to be a parent can be a motivating factor for engaging these parents in treatment and parenting classes so that they can parent effectively.
As a retired elementary school art teacher in the Syracuse City Public Schools, Marjorie finds being with the children the most enjoyable part of her CASA role. Given that, it would seem that her first and only assignment was a perfect fit: eight brothers and sisters ranging in age from a newborn to a 16 year old. She visits with each child at least once a month and works closely with the foster parents and relatives who care for them. When you speak with her, it is clear that she sees the unique needs of each child and that she is very motivated to ensure that each finds a permanent and loving home. For three of the children, this means being placed with relatives; for two, long-term foster care; and for the others, a process of reunification with their father. Like so many volunteers, Marjorie has found a way to blend her other interests into her CASA work. As a longtime docent and Board Member of the Everson Museum of Art, Marjorie forged a partnership between the museum and the Department of Social Services (DSS). Through her advocacy, many families are now enjoying visitations at the museum, where there is an interactive children's gallery. She is intent on expanding DSS' use of this space, which she feels is comfortable for families because it is “not a scene where there is hardship; it is safe and there are beautiful things to look at.” This partnership is free to both the museum and to DSS, so she is hopeful it will endure. In addition to providing a beautiful and family-friendly place for children in foster care to gather with their relatives, this partnership also “raises the profile of CASA so that people in the community know about it and understand it better.” Thank you to Marjorie and all CASA volunteers who put their creative talents to such good use on behalf of children and families. |
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