CASA Volunteer Reports Bias In The System

This testimony comes from a signed contributor. I have decided to publish here rather than the comment page. My former 31st District Chair had the same experience. She argued for placement with family and was drummed out. In King Co. they don't call you back again.


"I was a CASA several years ago. I only worked on one case, but that was enough for me to see very clearly that the CASA's job has nothing to do with protecting the child's best interests. When I disagreed with the actions being taken by CPS which were jeopardizing the children's safety I was viciously attacked. Even though I had cleared a background check and attended and passed all the training, I was talked down to and raked over the coals when I gave my testimony in court. My case involved two young children who were taken from their parents at the ER when the mother tested positive for amphetamines. It very likely was a false positive, because a couple weeks later, she was in the ER again and when she was told she tested positive she insisted she had done no drugs and asked for a second test, which came back negative. She was accused of being a "frequent flyer" at the ER obviously hooked an pain meds, but when an ER doc finally took her complaints seriously and ran some tests, she was found to have undiagnosed MS. her complaints had been very real. Nevertheless, the state took her children away and they were never returned, the state now saying she was incapable of caring for them because she had MS! It's a long and shocking story! Once I realized what my "real" function was - to support CPS's decisions, regardless of the facts, - I quit the program entirely."
{signed and email given}