From the heart - the difference one casa can make

a casa changes a child's story

Pam Cole Grimes (middle left) with CASA staff for Volunteer Appreciation Surprise Visits.

Pam Cole Grimes took her oath to be a CASA volunteer over 2 years ago. From the start, she was committed to helping children in foster care have a passionate defender who will ensure that their best interests are kept front and center during this tumultuous time. When I first met Pam, she was a CASA supporting the children of three families.  In December, Pam achieved the best of all outcomes – permanency for three siblings.  This is the story that I’d like to share.

Watchful Eyes for the Child’s Well-Being 
When I joined CASA in 2019, Pam was already deeply engaged in helping three siblings find their forever home. The parents’ substance use disorder had triggered the children’s entry into the foster care system.  As befitting a CASA, Pam rose to the challenge to be a go-between the case manager, the parents, various schools, medical providers, and attorneys. Pam started tracking the children’s progress so that they would stay on course with their childhood developmental accomplishments. She stepped in when they fell off track and offered recommended corrections.  Importantly, Pam ensured that the foster parents and DFCS (Department of Family and Child Services) consistently met the children’s needs. 

The children’s parents lived separately in two different states and each had their own court-ordered case plans to regain custody. To the father’s credit, he progressed towards the compliance of his goals more rapidly and eventually regained custody of the oldest child, with conditions. This court plan gave the father an opportunity to demonstrate his ability to care for one child before entrusting the other two siblings to his care. Pam provided guidance and encouragement to the father to accomplish his goals. Despite that in 2020 Pam’s work was constrained by the COVID pandemic, she persisted by continuing socially-distanced, in-person visits to assure the father was taking good care of his eldest child.  

Unfortunately, then came red flags. Pam was on hand to notice the lapses, prompting her and the case manager to address these significant concerns. Though reunification is always the ultimate goal, in this case Pam documented and reported that the father’s situation was deteriorating.

A CASA Volunteer Can Turn a Child’s Story Around
During these long months, Pam had never given up on the mother to have her accomplish her case plan goals to be reunited with the children as well. The mother first demonstrated she was on the road to success by completing her substance use disorder treatment program. She met with her children regularly. She obtained stable housing and gainful employment. Pam made trips out of state to meet with the mother in order to document her improving circumstances, not letting preconceived opinions interfere with increasingly positive observations. Pam ensured that the courts and all parties had records and photographs to inform the court of the mother’s progress. Pam’s efforts prompted a turnaround in the children’s circumstance. At the next hearing, the Judge accepted Pam’s recommendation and returned custody of all three siblings to their mother.

Dedication of Our CASA Volunteers
To change a child’s story, we need strong CASA advocates who recognize and document when a child’s life circumstances alter. With eyes and ears on the ground, a CASA’s recommendations can adroitly shift to recognize an evolving situation. As Pam demonstrated so forcefully, CASAs play this crucial role, of speaking up – sometimes as a lone voice – to advocate for the child’s best interest.  With this support, the children become stronger and persevere to overcome the trajectory of their initial story.  

Remember, a CASA is the voice for the child. We integrate ourselves into a child’s case, chronicle the minute details of their lives and stand up to be heard. In Pam’s case, the three children eventually were reunified with their mother and today they are thriving and happy. Pam stays in touch, further strengthening the bond that formed over time. Even though 2020 presented barriers unlike any we could have imagined, Pam found creative ways to help the three siblings settle into their permanent home.

Our CASAs work tirelessly to support over 375 children who live in foster care. Today, Pam is again displaying her dedication to help another child find a permanent home - this time with her grandparents. Again, we rejoice, she’s almost there!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - SHARON NEWMAN

Sharon Newman is an advocacy coordinator with a specialty in older youth in foster care. She joined the CASA team a year ago after seven years as a case manager in the foster care division of Chatham County Department of Child and Family Services as well as experience as a substance use counselor and probation officer. Sharon has her BA in Criminal Justice from North Carolina Central University. She and her husband, James, are the proud parents of two beautiful and accomplished grown daughters, Taylor and Bridgette.