14

Friday, May 16 1986

,

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Judge John J. O'Brien hears testimony from CASA volunteer Marilyn Levine.

An unwed
white mother
and her 18-
month-old bi-
racial child were
living with the
woman's sister.
The mother
wanted to live
. with her new
boyfriend. Her married sister
petitioned the Oakland County Pro-
bate Court for guardianship of the in-
fant. The mother contested her appli-
cation. What should the court do?
Until last November, the court
would have "borrowed" a caseworker
from its juvenile court division to in-
vestigate the case. Thanks to the
Greater Detroit Section, National
Council of Jewish Women, that proc-
ess is no longer necessary.
Six months ago, NCJW launched
the first Legal Guardianship advo-
cacy program in Michigan. The proj-
ect is the newest extension of NCJW's
CASA (Court Appointed Special Ad-
vocate) Program, which since 1977
has provided a cadre of trained volun-
teers to investigate approximately
100 foster care placements in coopera-
tion with the Probate Court.
For the bi-racial baby, an impar-

tial team of two trained volunteers
worked to assure the child a safe,
stable and healthy home environ-
ment. After a series of in-depth home
studies, the CASA volunteers recom-
mended that the aunt be granted
guardianship for both the baby and
the mother.
The Legal Guardianship program
has provided a badly needed service to
the Probate Court and Oakland
County children. Ann Zousmer,
chairperson of NCJW's Children and
Youth Services, says that "unlike the
area of foster care, where juvenile
court caseworkers do routine home
studies, no such examinations were
performed in guardianship cases.
Traditionally, if a guardianship was
protested, a judge would draw from
the caseworkers of the juvenile court
to investigate."
If Wayne County had had such an
advocate program last year, perhaps
little Shaun Gates might still be
alive.
The four-year-old's murder last
December by legal guardians his
father had chosen for him exposed the
issue to public scrutiny: Unless an in-
dividual contests a guardianship peti-
tion, no evaluation is performed by
the probate court to determine the

ARDIAN
F THE
KIDS

BY DEBBIE WALLIS LANDAU
Special to The Jewish News