Volunteer Spotlight: Annie Novak Clough

Annie Novak Clough wanted a way to give back to the community and learn more about the foster care system. She had a close family friend who had been a CASA and became excited about the work. She became a CASA in October 2014, and as she pointed out – this is her fifth anniversary with CASA!

In Annie’s role as a special educator, she has been involved with students affected by the foster care system. Annie said, “I saw a need for more advocacy for those without words - babies, children with special needs, or children whose voices weren’t being heard for other reasons.” Annie believed CASA would be a good way to advocate.

Annie shares that her current training as a behavior analyst gives her an objective perspective that works well for court reports. She finds it rewarding to be able to offer an objective neutral perspective that other parties might not be able to see to help get children’s needs met.

When asked about what she finds challenging about this work, Annie shared it is, “Not being kept informed about cases in a timely fashion.” She states, “When this started happening to me I tried to identify that one person that I can trust to send me updates that are important. Sometimes it’s the foster family, sometimes FSRP, once it was a close family friend, one time in a non-removal situation it was the mom on her case. I put it on my calendar every 2-3 weeks to send a message and reach out, if I haven’t heard from them, for an update in addition to my visits.”

Being involved in CASA has given Annie a lot more empathy for families affected by trauma, both children and adults. She feels she has a much better understanding of terms like ‘denial of critical care’ and has been able to think about strengths in families. She understands more about resources that are available to children and families in general.  But mostly, Annie shared, that by advocating for these children she makes a difference that she doesn’t always see in other areas of life.

Holiday Season Reflection

 “The Holiday season is upon us. Christmas, Hanukah, New Years, Kwanzaa; these are times that can be extremely difficult for many foster children. During this time of Holiday Cheer, many foster children are faced with the realization that they will not be “home for the holidays,” so to speak, with their biological family members. When they wake up Christmas morning, and are surrounded by people who just may be strangers to them, strangers who are laughing and having fun, it can be a very difficult time for them, indeed. To be sure, it is a day that is a stark reminder to these children that they are not with their own family. It is during the holidays when families are supposed to be together, yet these children in care are not. They are not with their families, and they may not know when they will see them next.

Along with this, foster children also struggle with trying to remain loyal to their birth parents while enjoying the holiday season with their foster family. There are those moments when a child from foster care may feel guilty for experiencing joy and laughter with their foster family, they may feel that they are not only letting their birth mother or father down, they might even be betraying their birth parents and member of their biological family, causing even more grief, guilt, and anxiety within the child during this season of holiday joy. Indeed, this can be a very emotionally stressful time for all involved.” Foster Care & The Holidays, Dr. John N. DeGarmo, Ed.D., https://www.fosterfocusmag.com/articles/foster-care-holidays

As we embark on this holiday season, it is important for ICAB volunteers to inquire about holiday plans for children we serve. Talk with children and biological families about their own traditions to reinforce the importance of their family memories and activities. Ask caregivers how they are preparing children and their own families for the holiday to ensure children feel as comfortable as possible and included in gatherings. Strive to ensure that each child’s emotional needs are being met as they navigate through the holiday season. Everyone can play a part in giving children in foster care hope for the holidays.

        Gift Giving Policy Reminder

With the winter holidays coming up, it’s a good time to remind our generous, big-hearted CASA Advocates and Coaches about the CASA Program gift-giving policy.  While we know that the children and families we serve have many needs, giving gifts at the holidays, or anytime of the year can set an unintended precedent.  

When a child or family receives a gift from the Advocate, other parties on the case may adopt the view that the Advocate has lost their ability to remain objective to the case. Children or families who receive gifts from their Advocate may come to expect their Advocate to give them something at each visit.  Worse, the child or parent may feel they owe their Advocate something in return. This pretense could cause the child or family to purposefully change their behavior or sentiment towards their Advocate. Thus, the Advocate would be observing child or family behavior that wasn’t genuine. Rather, in your role as the Advocate, you have the opportunity to help DHS and the court identify needs for the child and family.  One need identified could be to help the family have a nice holiday by asking DHS to refer the family for a ‘adopt-a family’ type of program.    

Iowa CASA Program Policy mirrors the National CASA/GAL Association for Children’s local program standard 7.E.7.b.iv.  The Iowa CASA Program CASA Advocate/Coach policy manual page 17 reads:   A. Gift Giving 1. Advocates and Coaches cannot directly give money, gifts, clothes or other items to a CASA child/family.

Some CASA offices help with ensuring children receive gifts during the holidays such as collecting money or toys for children served by the CASA organization who may not receive a gift. When this occurs, items cannot be given by the CASA Advocate (i.e. the To/From tag cannot mention the CASA program or the advocate’s name directly) and the CASA Advocate can’t give the gift to the child or the family in person.   

Additionally, due to issues of confidentiality, it’s not appropriate for CASA Advocates to suggest children or families on their case to be the recipients of other ‘adopt-a-family’ types of activities.  It’s very kind for a CASA Advocate to suggest to their peers at their local service organization chapter or church group to adopt the Advocate’s CASA family for gifting, but any details of the case, including age, gender, interests, etc could inadvertently reveal the family’s identity and violate the CASA Program’s confidentiality policy.  

Finally, if you’re considering remembering your CASA or FCRB Coordinator on your gift list this year, please be mindful that Child Advocacy Board employees are State of Iowa public servants and are unable to accept gifts from the public valued at more than $3.00.  

As always, the generous, servant heart of our volunteers shines through in all you do for children and families!  Happy Holidays!  

Occasionally, CASA Advocates are asked to provide testimony or documentation in legal matters outside of the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.  A CASA Advocate may be asked to testify on behalf of a parent in a divorce proceeding or a CASA Report to the Court may be requested as evidence in a criminal matter.  The Iowa CASA Program has worked with the Office of the Iowa Attorney General to develop protocol surrounding subpoenas for CASA Advocates.  

All observations and information gathered by CASA Advocates on behalf of children and the juvenile court is considered confidential.  CASA Advocates, Coaches and program staff are not authorized to release any information outside of the juvenile court setting or to any other entities other than those allowed in Iowa Code.  (Link to Iowa CASA Policy on Confidentiality of Information).  For this reason, Advocates and Coaches are not authorized to provide testimony or documentation in criminal, civil or probate court settings as is often requested by families or attorneys.

As an Advocate or Coach, if you are approached about the possibility of providing testimony or documentation outside of the juvenile court setting, please inform the party that CASA Advocates are not authorized to provide information outside of juvenile court.   If you are ever served a subpoena, please contact your CASA Coordinator immediately and provide a copy of the subpoena to assist program staff in determining the next course of action.   As a reminder, CASA Advocates are encouraged to provide testimony if called to do so in their juvenile court case.  

Your CASA Coordinator has materials available to assist you in learning how to handle a situation in which you are approached about the possibility of providing testimony or documentation or in the event you’re served a subpoena.  Please contact your CASA Coordinator for more information on subpoenas outside of the juvenile court. Volunteers can also visit this link for more instructions on managing subpoena requests.