Lighting the way to safe, permanent homes for kids

November is National Adoption Month. Amid the opioid epidemic, with the number of Connecticut children in foster care increasing past 4,300 (after having earlier dropped below 4,000) — and with the total number of children under the juvenile court’s jurisdiction due to abuse or neglect exceeding 10,000 per year — let’s consider ways to help these young people secure safe, permanent homes. All children deserve this, whether with their biological families, extended kin or adoptive families. Let’s also recognize people who open their homes as foster parents during traumatic periods of transition.

Public consciousness around adverse childhood experiences is growing. A federal study found six in 10 Americans experience at least one adverse experience — household violence; drug, alcohol, or sexual abuse; or incarceration of a family member — during childhood. Nearly one in six endures four or more different types of such experiences. Related dangers range from diabetes, depression and hypertension to struggles with school, work and relationships.

Connecticut is making progress in caring for children at particular risk — those who after investigation by the Department of Children and Families are placed under protection. Especially encouraging was the move as former DCF Commissioner Joette Katz notes from institutions to families; the percentage of children protected in residential facilities fell from about 30 percent to 8 percent between January 2011 and 2019.

Such progress is bolstered by public and nonprofit actors — from the Governor's Task Force on Justice for Abused Children, Office of the Child Advocate and Connecticut Alliance of Adoptive and Foster Families, to the Center for Children's Advocacy and Children's Law Center. (New Haven alone has Connecticut Voices for Children, Clifford Beers, ‘r kids, and various school, university, faithbased and hospital resources.) Other things being equal, the aim is to return children to their families. But if that’s not safe or wise in a specific case, having foster care and adoption available is crucial.

Judges play a fundamental role in determining a child’s best interest in such cases. The process also includes professional attorneys and social workers to protect children from birth through adolescence. But these professionals often have large caseloads. In this process, another valuable role is that of a courtappointed special advocate.

CASAs are volunteers from all walks of life whom judges appoint to collaborate in discerning and defending the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. These volunteers meet with children at least monthly, getting to know them and their circumstances — including teachers and social workers, foster parents and families. Carefully screened and trained through a systematic curriculum and part of a national network recognized for improving outcomes for kids, CASAs make evidencebased recommendations to judges. At the center: these caring, consistent volunteers' relationships with the children themselves — with whom these adults can make a lifelong difference through oneonone interactions at a difficult time.

The CASA network has an established affiliate in Fairfield County and a new statewide association. This work is expanding due to a 2016 state law. Until now, only 1 percent of Connecticut’s children in foster care had CASAs, reflecting an unmet need and an enormous opportunity for volunteers to get involved. In 2019, CASA of Southern Connecticut and CASA of Northern Connecticut started up, received 501(c) (3) status, and began welcoming applications from prospective volunteers. The first cohort will train in December and begin volunteer advocacy in juvenile courts early in the new year. Engaging as a CASA is one proven way to help change a child’s story. Ultimately the goal is to identify a safe, permanent home where the child can thrive.

As Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, says: “CASA volunteers play a unique role on behalf of some of our most vulnerable children. Their commitment, vigilance and persistence offer hope where there has been little. They help to light the way for these children — and for all of us.”

This holiday season, as we cherish blessings of family and friends, let’s also think of children whose family ties have frayed or fractured. Whether through adoption, fostering, volunteering in some other way, including as a CASA, or supporting organizations advancing such efforts, there is much we can do — as well as much to be thankful for.