The Privilege of a Safe Quarantine

By Jessica Mickley
Director of Training and Outreach

For the past few months, much like everyone else, I have battened down the hatches and lived my life primarily within the confines of the same four walls. I used to love my apartment. Now it’s just fine, I guess. 

I’ve baked a few times and watched a lot of Netflix. I read less than I should have and slept more than I probably should have. As bored and uncomfortable as I got, I always knew I was safe at home.

No matter what was occurring outside my front door, be it a pandemic, a tropical storm, wildfires, or any of the other joys 2020 has offered, I knew that I was safe inside.

This is a privilege. It’s also a true blessing. 

Esteemed psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk has spent his life studying traumatic experiences, often focusing on terrosim and natural disasters. After September 11th, van der Kolk interviewed a young boy, Noam, who was a mere 1,500 feet away from the World Trade Center when the first plane crashed. Somehow, despite the chaos and horror right outside of his classroom window, Noam’s experience didn’t result in a trauma response. Part of the reason for this, van der Kolk states, is that Noam was able to return home to his parents and brother, where he would be safe. At home, “the alarm bells in his brain and body quieted. This freed his mind to make sense of what had happened,” van der Kolk said.

Of course, there are other factors that allowed Noam to avoid ongoing traumatic stress and PTSD, like a loving family and support system. But his ability to find refuge at home was key. 

I am grateful for this privilege that Noam and I share. When we walk through our respective front doors, we can expect a space that lends itself to destressing and healing. For many, home is not a safe place. Abused and neglected children, victims of domestic violence, those living with family members who are struggling with addiction or mental health issues --  their heartbeats don’t get the chance to slow down and their bodies don’t get the chance to unwind. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, both inside and outside are scary places for these populations.

I urge each of you who walk through their front door and breathe a sigh of relief -- “I”m home,” you think -- to consider those who don’t have that luxury and privilege. And do what you can to make home safe a safe place for everyone. A few things you can do to help make home safe for all: become a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer (start the process here), donate and bring advocacy services to more at-risk children (donate here) and/or learn other ways to get involved at Passaic County CASA here. 

Other Duties as Assigned

By Erica Fischer-Kaslander
Executive Director

One of my coworkers commented to me today, “this job really should be called multi-tasking.” I dismissed her comment as a sign of the times. A few hours later I took a step back when I found myself on speakerphone with an emergency case-related issue, with a Zoom meeting muted on the laptop in front of me, while I stood at my kitchen island stirring a pot of mac and cheese to feed my kids lunch. Did I mention this is all while I watched my preschooler attend his last day of preschool via Google Meet on the iPad across the room? Meanwhile, our staff Google Hangouts was dinging with alerts like a chorus on the corner of my computer monitor in front of me. At that moment, I thought to myself, “multitasking is what we used to do. I don’t know what this is, but I do know it’s insane.” 

There’s a single line  of text found at the bottom of almost every job description in the nonprofit world: “And all other duties as assigned or required.”  

I’ve  been CASA’s Executive Director for the last 13 years, and I’m confident that my job description never mentioned pandemic planning, epidemiology, infectious disease control, supply chain management, home schooling, virtual continuing education, remote technology, grief counseling, staff therapy, or food insecurity. However, all of these activities  found their way into the “other duties” category,  and then quickly  turned into “main duties” on March 12 when we began pandemic operations and the job descriptions as we knew them went out the window. It all happened so fast that I don’t think anyone realized the magnitude at the time. We just did what made sense and needed to get done. 

 I share this because on more than one occasion recently I’ve been asked questions such as, “Why is CASA leaning into work with food insecurity?” “How did you operationalize while everything was shut down?” “When do you think you’ll reopen?”  I understand the confusion and questions; it’s a confusing time. 

The first day or so we all went home to lick our wounds, stumble around our homes to try and find some area to assemble a makeshift office, and attempted to build a schedule to move forward. It was like looking into an abyss though. At that point, there was no direction from anyone. There were no plans for court, and New Jersey’s child protection agency, DCP&P, had shut down for an unknown time period. We knew our own children were home from school for two weeks, but then what? We wondered aloud to each other if we may find ourselves back at work with our kids in tow. Amongst our fifteen staff we have twelve school age children. It would be a very full office! 

Erica, right, brainstorms with other PCPP members

At that point we decided we needed to take matters into our own hands. We couldn’t wait any longer. When other organizations, state agencies, and local government provided further guidance, then we’d adjust accordingly. Overnight, we took our “normal” operations, which are very much based on the premise of human relationships and in-person contact, and pivoted so all activities could be completed in a virtual setting. We updated our website to include a dedicated COVID-19 community resource section. When families who never needed assistance before started asking for help with some very basic essentials after layoffs, cancelled jobs, and closed down businesses started to  affect their household income, we realized we needed to do more than ever. We leaned into meeting this need by joining with 5 other cutting-edge nonprofits to create the Passaic County Pandemic Partnership (PCPP). We launched the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) as part of the PCPP to address food insecurity and other basic needs for child welfare-involved families. We finished one volunteer training class, and then immediately started and finished a second training class of brand new volunteer advocates from behind a computer screen. Our development and operations staff conducted a wildly successful "Heroes” lawn sign campaign. The amazing part is that this was all done while advocates and staff continued to speak up and advocate for the best interests of all our children.  Our operations may look different than they did a few months ago, but there’s not a day since the pandemic hit that Passaic County CASA has not been in full operations - and then some. 

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A partial list of our “other duties as assigned” over the past few months as recounted by CASA staff

Keisha: When families weren’t able to reach the Board of Social Services or Unemployment, they reached out to me for assistance. I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with worried parents, helping them apply for SNAP, Medicaid, Unemployment Insurance, and rental assistance, as well as helping them track down their stimulus checks.

Janice: At one point during the evolution of the federal economic stimulus packages, I was watching technical webinars on a daily basis to keep up with the rapidly changing laws, regulations, interpretations, and processes.  There was more than one week where updates that affected the coming week’s deadlines were released to the public around 7 p.m. on Friday evening.

Ed:  Many services usually offered to our children (e.g., Early Intervention, therapies, etc.) have been discontinued or reconfigured.  Through the benevolence of One Simple Wish and other donors, we have been able to provide learning toys and other developmentally appropriate tools to our children.  Thus, my “other duties assigned” have sometimes been as delivery man.

Laura W: I sewed masks for most CASA staff members and their families (back in the early days when masks couldn’t be found) and ordered a case of hand sanitizer for us to share (when that too couldn’t be found anywhere). Also, this isn’t something I can claim credit for, but Jess and others pivoted to fulfill the continuing education and social needs of our volunteers through virtual in-services and happy hours. Also, Courtney, Pam, and others drove all over North Jersey delivering signs as part of the “Heroes” lawn sign campaign.

Michelle: I developed a reference that helps our Judges understand which supervisor and CASA are assigned to each case, facilitating our participation in virtual court hearings.  I also helped connect one of our youth, in need of tutoring, with a CASA volunteer who is now tutoring him via video chat. At one point, I recruited friends to help me sew buttons onto 50 headbands, to make all-day-mask-wearing a little easier on the ears of one advocate (and her colleagues) who work as ER nurses in a hospital.

Gina: A few weeks ago, I unloaded boxes of food kits being delivered to our office from the CUMAC truck. Since the pandemic started, I have worked more hours every week than I did prior to the pandemic. Staff and volunteers have needed more from me, so I am available to them pretty much all the time now. My newest role at CASA is summer camp "coordinator.” I’m currently working with volunteers and staff to try to get some CASA children into some of the coveted in-person summer camp spots available. 

Julie: I have been humbled to see the outpouring of love and support from the generous hearts in and around our community!  Since day one, items from the Amazon wish list, diapers, and formula donations started pouring in. As part of the Passaic County Pandemic Partnership, CUMAC has provided CASA food kits to send out to those in need in the community along with diapers, wipes and formula.  With a small but mighty team of volunteers and staff we have been able to do delivery between 30-50 food kits weekly.  

Courtney:  What started as a nice way to promote our organization while saying “thank you to the heroes” turned into an unpredictable and quite substantial fundraiser/marketing tool for CASA.  We could not have imagined the popularity of our lawn signs efforts and the resulting 1000 lawns we staked them into. As the lead delivery person, I can say I now know the streets of Wayne, NJ (which purchased the large majority of signs) far better than those in my own hometown.

Davetta: During the beginning of the pandemic, I was assigned to a case with two children who had just recently moved to new resource homes. Unfortunately, their belongings did not move with them. The boys were in a resource home with complete strangers, and none of their basic needs. On that same day, I went to CUMAC, the CASA Office and a local convenience store to pick up everything they needed. Did I mention I did this all while being 7 months pregnant with swollen feet? 

Laura N.: One of my CASA kids celebrated a birthday last month, so I participated in a birthday drive by, complete with balloons. I’ve sent art supplies to all the budding artists and recently dropped off poetry books to an aspiring poet. After schools closed, one of my teenagers started having a difficult time completing her schoolwork because of very slow Wifi at her group home. I insisted that she have access to better Wifi so she didn’t fall behind in school.  

Jess: When the CASA office and then the entire state of New Jersey shut down, I lost one of my favorite aspects of my job: creating opportunities for volunteer fellowship through book clubs, trainings, and other gatherings. So I became CASA’s resident trivia master. I hosted a number of CASA volunteer and staff virtual trivia nights/happy hours so we could all have some fun and feel less alone during such a crazy time. I think my favorite vaguely pandemic-related trivia question was, “What are the four ingredients in bread?” 

Sarah: When COVID-19 led to a number of new cases, including a family of four children that I used to work with, I agreed to be their CASA until the next class of volunteers were sworn in. I wanted to be sure that someone was there to participate in their telephonic Child Study Team meetings and deliver the educational toys they needed to stay busy. I also helped to connect the first free CASA tutor to a child on my caseload that needed assistance in math. 

Jill: I was assigned to two cases while waiting for new CASA volunteers to be sworn in. I delivered diapers and wipes to one new resource parent with an infant, when the stipend from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency was delayed. I assisted a resource parent out of the county with connecting to her local providers, as well as mailed her diapers and wipes when she wasn’t sure if her food benefits would renew because she was going to miss the appointment (since the office was closed). Also, a number of children had birthdays occur in the beginning of the pandemic, and I ensured that the children who had to celebrate their birthdays with a stay-at-home order in place received a birthday card and a gift.

Pam: It's a "Pandemic"! But CASA staff members are still working at our regular duties... and beyond.  Kids need to keep busy, so I have been creating and mailing/delivering "fun packs" of games, toys, puzzles, and music to keep kids occupied.  Kids grow, so I’ve been packing  and delivering summer clothes for kids since stores are closed.  Kids are hungry, so I’ve delivered hot meals to families in Paterson. And our supporters want to thank front line workers, so I drove many miles delivering hundreds of lawn signs to thank our heroes.  Thank you supporters for making it possible for this CASA staff member to help those in need!

Stepping Up For Those In Need

When the coronavirus outbreak hit Northern NJ, Passaic County CASA knew that meant the end of “business as usual.” Between health crises and job losses, people across Passaic County were facing critical shortages of food and necessary supplies, especially items for babies and young children. So CASA stepped up! Together with five other area non-profits to form the Passaic County Pandemic Partnership (Oasis - A Haven for Women & Children, CUMAC, Boys and Girls Club of Paterson and Passaic, Star of Hope, and Paterson Habitat for Humanity) CASA staff and volunteers got to work. Here’s a slideshow of highlights of the efforts of both the PCPP collectively and CASA!

Leading during a pandemic: a story of vulnerability and acceptance

By Erica Fischer-Kaslander
Executive Director

It’s now officially been one month since my children have gone to school, one month since I sent CASA staff home to operate remotely and one month since we’ve lost our sense of normalcy. 

By the week of March 12, I had already been paying attention to the spread of COVID-19 for more than a month. It appeared on my radar in January, when I attended the International Child Maltreatment Conference in San Diego, along with 6 other CASA staff, at the same time that first case was diagnosed in California. We had the idea that it may eventually come to New Jersey and by February we had begun to develop operational contingency plans. But despite that preparation, even as I sat in our training room on March 11, 2020 to give instructions to my staff of 15 about our plan moving forward, I was scared. There was no playbook for leading through a pandemic. They had questions I couldn’t answer and I was flying by the seat of my pants. I was pretending to be confident in my decisions and trying to instill confidence in my team who are exceptionally talented on a good day, but  a pandemic had rendered even them human. 

Those who’ve known me for a while know that I have an unwanted reputation among my family and friends for being the queen of crisis management. I’m the one who steps in when the crazy gets crazier or when bad gets worse with the ability to be calm and plan methodically. I’ve somehow ended up the designated funeral planner, healthcare decision maker, natural disaster expert, and so much more. When the stakes are high, it seems to be my comfort zone. I expected my ability to be the same for this COVID-19 pandemic but I have to say I was wrong. For the first time, I was out of my comfort zone. I questioned myself, I questioned my team, and I questioned the authorities. 

A month later, I realize that it’s ok. 

It’s ok to be uncomfortable right now because no one knows what to do. No one knows the answer and this isn’t anyone’s comfort zone.  Just like our healthcare system, governing bodies, and others, I’ve made and changed policies for our CASA staff and advocates umpteenth times since March 12. And that’s ok. Change is hard and this many changes so rapidly is exponentially harder. Some people accept and roll with change better than others but regardless it’s ok to not be ok.      

More than ever, I’ve learned an important part is to communicate when you are uncomfortable so others around you can support you and understand.  After sharing a particularly trying decision around our ability to visit children face to face, knowing that this decision would impact the safety and welfare of hundreds of children, I broke into tears. For 13 years, I had preached about the importance of regular face-to-face contact, and now I just sent out the complete opposite message, telling our team they shouldn’t visit our children in person. It felt like treason to my own values.  One of my colleagues came up with the simple reassuring words of “You did great. That was the right call.” I will always be grateful for that moment. In a split second I taught myself vulnerability is good, and reassurance for each other is even more important than ever. We are all in this together. 

In this last month, I’ve learned a lot about myself, my colleagues, and our work. Passaic County CASA was born 13 years ago at my hand-me-down beat up kitchen table. I worked for months to get our first office space and was so excited when we had a “real” office to go to. It was then that I felt like the agency was real and had risen from a thought to a reality. Now, 13 years later, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that brought Passaic County CASA back home. We forwarded the mail to my home, the phones to each staff member’s cell phone, and set up the remote login to our server. The operational heartbeat of Passaic County CASA is now scattered across Northern New Jersey in 15 different locations. Yes, there are definitely things we aren’t able to do but we’ve found a way to do just about everything else. Virtual trainings, telephonic court hearings, FaceTime home visits, Zoom staff meetings and more. Now after a month of remote pandemic operations, and thirteen years after leaving home the first time, I have realized the office was never what made us “real” to begin with. It’s always been our people. 

Through it all we have stayed connected and encouraging, always checking in, cheering each other on, and laughing when we thought maybe we wanted to cry.  It is the people of our child welfare world here in Passaic County that make this crazy system work--our own CASA staff, our volunteers, our Judges, our attorneys, our DCPP caseworkers and managers, and our amazing community partners. This pandemic month has broken down the walls of offices and somehow brought us closer than ever. Now don’t get me wrong, I wish this pandemic had never happened to begin with. However, under the circumstances, I couldn’t ask for a better result. We’ve gained friendships and partnerships, built stronger relationships across the distance, and been more creative than ever in our tireless goal of ensuring children’s best interests are met. It’s only been one month but it’s clear that the lessons I’ve learned will stay with me long after COVID-19 is gone. 

Keep your distance and still make a difference

By Jessica Mickley
Director of Outreach and Training

Right now, we need to come together and yet somehow, still keep our distance. 

The only way we will “flatten the curve” is if each of us switches our thinking from a self-centered mindset to a community-oriented one. Maybe as an individual, I have the health, resources, and privilege to hopefully survive COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean everyone does. If the simple act of staying inside even has the potential to save lives, count me in.

But that doesn’t mean social distancing is ideal. I am used to a semi-busy schedule, filled with yoga classes, concerts, movie nights, volunteering, and more. Most of these activities have been halted; they just aren’t compatible with social distancing. Fortunately, there is one activity that fits perfectly with this time of self-quarantining and social isolation: becoming a CASA volunteer. 

For all of us, it is more important than ever to have a sense of community and belonging. When you become a CASA volunteer, you become part of a group of caring, strong-minded, and dedicated advocates who all have one thing in common: they believe that all children deserve a chance at a bright future. On your way to becoming a CASA volunteer, you will meet and interact with new people and create a brand-new support system for yourself. 

For children involved in the foster care system, an advocate is exactly what they need right now. These kids are currently coping with this pandemic, as well as their everyday lives, without their parents by their side. With schools closed and social distancing in place, children in foster care will have a difficult time maintaining connections with their friends and teachers. As a volunteer, you will provide a constant person during this crazy time. Through regular phone chats, video calls, and e-mails, you will offer essential support to both the child and their resource parents, and ensure that all of the child’s needs are met. 

Our next CASA training will be facilitated entirely online, so you can be on your way to becoming a CASA volunteer almost immediately. Participating in our CASA volunteer training will not only prepare you to advocate on behalf of children involved in the child welfare system; it will also keep your brain active and give your mind a likely much-needed break from COVID-19. Our volunteer training includes activities and discussions designed to challenge participants and make them think deeply about topics like culture, diversity, parents’ rights, neglect vs. poverty, and more. 

This is a difficult time, but it doesn’t also have to be lonely and without purpose. Join a community, support a child, and make a difference, all from a safe distance away.

Attend our virtual information session on Saturday, March 28, 10 - 11 a.m. to learn more.