Advocacy From a Distance

In the midst of this unprecedented pandemic, children and families are struggling to make it through each day, one day at a time. Many of our families, already engaged with the child welfare system prior to COVID-19, will have an even more difficult time than the average family.

Fortunately, Court Appointed Special Advocates can still be strong supporters and advocates for the children they are appointed to and their families, while still observing social distancing and self-quarantining protocols. As of March 12, Passaic County CASA has suspended all in-person visitations, though virtual visits are encouraged to provide consistency and support to your CASA child during this time of uncertainty.

The platform you use for these “virtual visits” is up to you. Here is a great guide to some popular options like FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom. You should make every effort to see the child and his/her surroundings, so a voice call should ideally be used as a last resort.

There is a lot of information below that we hope will be helpful for you as a virtual advocate. Please take a moment to review, and don’t hesitate to connect with your case supervisor if you have any questions or if you are seeking a specific resource not included. Remember we are still here to support you! Call the CASA office, your supervisor via their cell, or email to reach us.

CASAs can be a support to resource and biological parents during normal times, and this situation is no different. CASAs are encouraged to check in with caretakers regularly as a form of support and to lend a listening ear. Parents may be struggling with distance learning school work, children’s lack of traditional routine or lack of services that support our children (therapy, visitations, after school activities, etc) All of these things may cause trauma reactions for children that already have a history of trauma. Caretakers and CASAs should be aware of this and have behavioral management tools to support youth if needed. If a child experiences a true mental health crisis, please instruct the caretaker to call the Mobile Crisis Response at 877-652-7624.

To support a child and their family, when making weekly check in calls, inquire about items such as:

Health of all household members -- physical and mental
How are school/distance learning assignments being completed? What was sent by the district/teacher? Is the teacher available via email to help, if needed? Could the CASA assist virtually?
What is the family doing to keep busy daily?
Is anyone in the household still working outside the home?
Has the child/children had any issues behaviorally since being home?
If the child’s visitation has been suspended due to COVID-19, have they been able to stay in touch with their parent/sibling(s) by phone?
Is the household having any other challenges? (Financial, shortage of food, childcare for healthcare workers/first responders, etc.)
Are there upcoming non-urgent medical/dental appointments for the child/children, and if so, has the Division been consulted to determine whether these appointments can be postponed?
Does the caretaker have supportive individuals they are relying on right now to stay sane and healthy?

If your CASA child is having a hard time opening up, here’s a great list of 30 questions that get kids talking and conversation starters for kids.

Additionally, here are some helpful tips when video chatting with children:

Practice looking at the camera – it is tempting to keep your eyes on your own picture, or the images on the screen – but you really make eye contact when you look at the camera and that is better for interactive communication.
Keep very young children engaged with you by playing ‘peek a boo’ – turn the camera away from you, then back to your face – and then sometimes when the camera comes back – you can surprise the kids by showing a book, or toy, or something else that you want to talk about.
Make sure to use the same greeting each time and in the same tone of voice when chatting with infants and toddlers. Infants and toddlers learn to recognize and feel comfortable with a real person on the screen when they hear that same sound each time they see the person. This is important because they often depend more on smell and touch when meeting a person – so they need more visual and sound cues to recognize you on video chat.
Use a lot of gestures. Be close to the camera – but not so close that your video partner can’t see your hands. Don’t be afraid to move – don’t be a talking head.

CASAs should remember that advocacy for a child is holistic and is always much wider than the child themselves. Please be sure to make phone contact with anyone else involved with the child’s case during this time to determine what their status is currently in relation to the child in question (if services are suspended, being offered remotely, etc.) This includes contact with biological parents, if the child is not currently in their custody. Be sure to make contact and help connect them with needed resources they may be seeking - the same as you would the child’s current caretaker.

Our specially-created website, www.passaiccountycasa.org/covid19 has a wide variety of resources you can refer to for your children and their families.

Even though we are physically apart, virtual communities keep people connected and build relationships every day. We hope that this will continue to hold true under these stressful conditions.