S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we'll tell you about a mentorship program having a big impact on youth in the foster care system. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Nearly 40,000 children are currently in foster care in California. Many have experienced immense challenges in their young lives. For some , that includes abuse and neglect , giving foster youth a consistent voice to support them and help them manage their foster care system can have a big impact on their lives. Today , I'm joined by a couple of people working to provide just that support. Jessica munoz is the president and CEO of voices for children. Jessica , welcome back to Midday Edition.
S2: Thank you so much.
S1: And Matt Marusik is also here. He's been a volunteer with voices for children for about six years now. Matt , welcome to you.
S3: Thanks for having me.
S1: So , Jessica , your organization manages a program called Casa for San Diego and Riverside counties. Tell us more about the Casa model and the role it plays in the lives of foster youth.
S2: Casa stands for court appointed special Advocate. Casa volunteers are special members of our community who volunteer their time to advocate for children in foster care from the child's point of view. The benefit of having that Casa volunteer is having a volunteer and a consistent adult by their side during what can be a very , very scary season of life for them from the court's point of view. The benefit is having an adult who , through the relationship over time , develops really unique and often critical insights into how the child's doing. And then those volunteers can share those insights in real time with the child social worker , as well as the judges who make periodic decisions about the child's needs.
S1: Well , Matt , you're a Casa volunteer.
S3: I was looking for opportunities to put down some roots in my new community. I had been a lifelong volunteer. I knew I loved working with kids and I loved being an uncle. And so as those things were milling about in my head , I happened to be in my local coffee shop , grabbing my grabbing my morning Americano. And as I was pouring in the cream , I looked up and there was a flyer for voices for children become a casa. I worked with foster youth. I thought , this is just perfect happenstance for me. So I scanned the QR code and the next thing I knew , I was in an information session learning all about it , what it takes and the training program and just really excited to get on with my casa journey.
S1: And Jessica , I mean , this is a legal , somewhat of a legal position , right ? Because volunteers are helping these youth navigate the court system.
S2: The most important thing that a volunteer have is the willingness to make the commitment to a child or sibling group , and the time to share. Voices for children provides all of the training , as well as ongoing support throughout the life of a volunteers advocacy , that someone needs to really be successful in this role. The vast majority of our volunteers don't have professional experience related to the work that we do in the law or social work , for example. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , Matt , what does training to become a Casa volunteer entail ? Sure.
S3: And that was me. As Jessica just said , I didn't have a lot of awareness of the the intricacies of the foster care system before becoming a casa. Um , but the training is extensive , and they really do a great job of preparing you. Um , not just with knowledge of the foster care system , but some really practical things about how to develop relationships with youth that have experienced abuse or neglect or both. And , you know , the other thing that's really been helpful. In addition to the extensive training , is the presence of what they call an advocacy supervisor. And that's that's really your your right hand if you have if you get stuck , if you have questions , if there's something that feels beyond the training you received , somebody you can call and kind of strategize with and then jump back into to your case. So that's really been helpful. Um , and I guess the last thing I would add is you kind of part of a Casa community. Um , you know , there's various ongoing training events where you see your Casa colleagues and kind of share stories and strategies and ideas , and that's been really beneficial over the years , too. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , you mentioned the training there and some of the challenges in forming a bond with with the youth sometimes.
S3: I've I've had three case youth over my six years , and I think with all three there was a flavour of maybe a little reluctant , maybe a little mistrust about somebody new in their lives , because after all , they have had many people coming in and out , um , providers , all very well-meaning , but sometimes a placement is just for a few months or several months , and then they go to another household , and that could mean a whole new school and all those transitions kind of , um , prime some of the , the youth for just not attaching to a new adult. So , uh , being consistent over time , I think being a good listener , um , you know , part of the training that we receive as courses is , you know , listening and building that relationship. That's been really helpful. Um , and , you know , over time , it's been one of the , the greatest honors of being a casas to see how that relationship with , with all three of them grew and deepened and just the comfort they feel in sharing what's most meaningful and important to them , which helps me advocate for for their voice , whether it's in court or at school , etc..
S1: All right , well , tell us about the kids you've met and worked with as a volunteer.
S3: Yes , well , I can I can talk about it at a high level. Um , because a lot of it is private , you know , to them. But man , uh , again , it's just been the most impactful and meaningful experience of my volunteer life. Um , the three youth I've been matched with , um , you know , again , the relationships , uh , I think were built through consistent visits over time and just , you know , saying , I'm going to come back and coming back and sometimes , uh , you know , there's an element of it that feels kind of like a big brother sort of program where you're developing relationships and getting to know them and trying to engage in activities that they find fun. But there's a other aspect that's more related to your obligations to the court , um , where you are. Well , what I say to trainees , I sometimes talk to trainees in the course of training program about my experience , I say. You always want to be collecting dots so that you can be connecting dots. So you're like learning a little bit about their interests and their struggles and their dreams. But you're also learning about how they're doing in school and the questions the social worker has , things that are happening with their placement , and so that you can kind of connect those those themes and those dots and be intentional and somewhat strategic as you report back to the court , um , verbally or or in your court report. Um , so , I mean , throughout that that process is kind of how we've seen , I've seen the impact over the , over the years. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , Matt really highlighted , you know , consistency in being there for these kids.
S2: We had a woman who was working with a teenage girl. She dutifully visited her every couple of weeks. Their interactions were polite and warm , but from the volunteers point of view seemed a little superficial. And so she was really asking herself and having those conversations with her supervisor. I hope I'm making a difference. And it was about eight months or so into their relationship that the young woman kind of asked her point blank. You're a really nice lady , but why do you keep showing up here and taking me to Starbucks ? And she tried to answer really authentically and said , because I choose to. And it was after hearing that that this young girl gave her a big hug for the very first time and said , nobody's ever chosen me before. And of course , we want children to feel that they matter and to feel chosen , and that in and of itself is worthy. But when you couple that feeling , the ability to create that feeling with the platform , to then let a social worker or a judge know if a child needs something that is profound , because now we have somebody who has a real human point of view into how the child is doing that the child can build trust with over time , that can really speak to those nuances. That can be very difficult to to ascertain when you're trying to meet the needs of lots of children at once , like our foster care system is.
S1: Well , I mean , that is so important to have that mentorship.
S2: I think part of the experience of many of the youth we serve , they tell us , is that instability. so youth who are in foster care may move from placement to placement over a period of time. And with each of those moves , those changes in their home come many other changes changes in their schools perhaps , or other service providers. And so for anyone who moves around that much , we can imagine that it's really hard to get your footing. But if you couple that with the trauma that many of these children have already experienced before then having that experience of foster care , it can lead to some really , really complex circumstances. And children are people with complex needs and likes and dislikes and all of those things just like adult people have. And so having someone who has the bandwidth to then singularly focus on how that young person's doing and how we can continue to , to nurture them because their child is happening right now. And we need to make sure that whether they're in foster care or not , and the children that we serve are they can have the most healthy , beneficial childhood possible.
S1: Well , Matt , walk us through what being a Casa volunteer is like and what you do. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So I think about it as two kind of big buckets , if you will. There there's the side that's all about relationship building and really getting to know your case. Youth and their likes and needs and circumstances and all of the people that are involved in their in their care. And that happens through small visits over time. The other side of it is , is more of the the court appointed side , you know , where you're advocating , you know , ensuring that the the youth's voice is heard and center to discussions about what's next and where they're going. And I it's wonderful to have that opportunity to , um , to communicate that to to the judge through your report and sometimes again in the courtroom. Um , but through that process , you know , there's just been a tremendous amount of wins , like just really touching wins. I mean , I got to get give a lot of credit , of course , to the youth themselves and their resilience and their strength. Um , but seeing I've , I've been able to see two of my youth through high school graduations , hard fought high school graduations. Um , again , sometimes through several different schools , whole new groups of teachers and counselors and criteria to graduate , and seeing them walk across the stage and get , you know , their high school diploma. After all of the discussions and reminders and pep talks we've had over the years , was just so rewarding to see the pride and their faces. Um , you know , so there's big wins like that. Um , but I also count the smaller wins. You know , just the , the day to day , the visits where we go for tacos , where we go for sushi , and just seeing the how they relax , you know , seeing that , hey , this is somebody that can be safe with and , you know , chat with. I don't have to , um , posture or figure out this person. I know he's coming back. I know he's here to stay. I really have found a lot of value in that. And I call that a win , too. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , that is excellent.
S2: Speak up now. Speak up now.
S1: All right. Thank you both so much. I've been speaking with Matt Marshak. He is a Casa volunteer with voices for children and also Jessica munoz. She is the CEO and president of voices with children. Jessica. Matt. Thank you both.
S2: Thank you so much.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
