New CASA volunteer joins others advocating for kids

CASAs (Court Appointed Special Advocates) are community members who volunteer to advocate for children in foster care.
Billie Muehlenkamp recently completed her training as a CASA volunteer and was sworn in earlier this month by Judge Edward Steenburg at the Chase County Courthouse.
Muehlenkamp joins Jacci Brown and Laura Maddox as  CASA volunteers for Chase County.
Catherine McDowell is the CASA program director for the Prairie Plains CASA Program in McCook.
“We cover seven counties in Nebraska: Red Willow, Hitchcock, Furnas, Dundy, Hayes, Frontier and Chase,” McDowell said.
CASA volunteers work with children who have a court case due to an alleged abuse or neglect by their caregivers, she said.
“Volunteers are there so the child’s voice is not lost,” she said.
CASA volunteers are there on behalf of a child during the most traumatic time in their life, said Maddox.
“We are really often one of the few people in a child’s life not being paid to be there for them,” she said.
Muehlenkamp said she wanted to become a volunteer because she doesn’t think children always get a fair shake in the court system.
“I have a niece who had been fostering four children and eventually adopted all four of them,” Muehlenkamp said. Her niece said the CASA volunteer was very important during the court proceedings and was then instrumental in helping with the adoption.
CASA programs across Nebraska are working hard to ensure that child abuse and neglect do not go unnoticed, read a news release by Corrie Kielty, executive director for the Nebraska CASA Association.
“CASA volunteers help children by giving them that adult voice that wants what’s best for the child—someone that has no motivation for anything other than what is best for the child,” Brown said.
There are no special qualifications to be a CASA volunteer other than caring about helping children, said McDowell.
Requirements to be a volunteer begin with a background check, 30 hours of training and the volunteer must visit an assigned child at least once a month, though most visit more often, she said.
A volunteer can expect to commit to possibly eight to 10 hours a month, depending on the need.
Community members are encouraged to consider joining CASA.
For information, visit the website at casaforthekids.org.
For questions or to sign up for this area, contact McDowell at 308-345-8817.