April is child abuse awareness month, and Kappa Alpha Theta member Melanie Smith is pouring her time and energy into the needs of abused and neglected children by volunteering at Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA of the South Plains.
Smith is one of many volunteers serving as advocates for children while also attending Texas Tech.
At a national level, Kappa Alpha Theta's philanthropy is CASA, an organization that provides volunteers to serve as independent voices in court for abused and neglected children. Last year, CASA served 919 children in the South Plains area, according to CASA training material. This would not have been possible had it not been for 332 volunteers, like Smith, all of who donated 4,862 hours to find abused and neglected children safe and permanent homes.
Smith, a senior accounting and Spanish major from Waco, said upon graduating in May, she is moving to Dallas to begin a career that has nothing to do with being an advocate for children, however, she calls her experience at CASA as "humbling and eye-opening.
"It has let me see a whole different side of the world," she said.
The foster care system is extensive, making the job of a CASA volunteer all embracing. From the time children are removed from their homes, judges have 12 months to place them in a safe and permanent home, according to the training material. Therefore, volunteers for CASA make a one-year commitment, following cases from beginning to end.
Volunteers serving as advocates undergo extensive training to prepare for taking on a case, including attending court hearings and meetings, reading and completing book work and watching training videos.
All of the training was worth it to Smith, who said she feels good knowing what she is doing is making a difference in the lives of others.
After training, volunteers are assigned cases, and work to provide judges with background details about children in the foster care system, allowing the court to make a sound decision about the future of the children, according to the material.
After the CASA volunteer gets to know the children on a more personal level, he or she will make a recommendation to the court on what is best for the child. Whether the recommendation is to send the child back home with their parents or to place them in an adoption program, the suggestion has been made on the basis of the needs of the child.
Children in the foster care system are appointed attorneys, but oftentimes a child falls through the cracks when the attorney has been appointed to many cases, according to CASA material. When a CASA volunteer is appointed to a case, however, the child has a voice in court.
Rose Carkeet, the development director of CASA, said the foster care system is a last resort for children. The Lubbock region, per capita in Texas, has the largest number of children living in foster care in 2007, a statistic CASA is making an effort to change.
Carkeet said she sees real potential in student volunteers because of their flexible schedules. She sees Smith, as well as other volunteers, becoming a positive influence for children in foster care who may not have consistent adult mentorship.
"Melanie has been great," she said. "We couldn't ask for a better volunteer."
For Smith, she said being an advocate has been an emotional but rewarding experience.
"You make a connection," she said. "It's a very different experience to see adoption and foster care from the child's side of it."
Though foster care statistics and the epidemic of child abuse can be disheartening to organizations like CASA, Smith said she encourages other students to get involved.
"You don't think you can make a difference, but you really can," she said.
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