16
Friday, May 16, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
the finest in contemporary
posters and original
Works of art
CLOSE-UP
Guardians
Continued from preceding page
g
25► off framed
20% off custom aming
ore csh tar lake rd n. of maple
at SUGARTREE w
• loomfield
mon t sat 10 am-5 pm
thurs till 8 pm
855-0813
mere and sheila aronoff
become her guardians. But it was
one particular family which ec-
lipsed the rest. This was a family
where the mother and father both
had responsible jobs. They also
had a daughter a year older than
this girl. Taking in this teenager
meant that their daughter would
have to share her room. It didn't
faze her at all.
"What the woman told us was
that as a family unit they had
agreed it was a small sacrifice to
make, that they would be pleased
to share what they had and pro-
vide for her. The daughter actu-
ally told her mother that if it
made her happy to be able to per-
form this good deed, she sup-
ported it all the way."
That placement was recom-
mended. After the two CASA
workers attended the hearing,
they arranged for the necessary
papers to expedite the 16-year-
old's transfer to a new school dis-
trict. The judge endorsed the
placement, which allowed the
girl and her brother to see each
other as frequently as they
Wished.
Does the CASA volunteer
usurp the role of the social
worker? Ray Sharp, child welfare
w(gker supervisor at the court,
maintains that the opposite is
true.
"Despite any caseworker's best
efforts, there hasn't always been
the extra time to read between
the lines, to examine every
nuance of a case. Previously, the
juvenile court did not have the
wherewithal to pursue monthly
follow-up visits to families in fos-
ter care cases, for example. The
CASA workers, throughout the
years, have actually taken an
enormous pressure off casewor-
kers."
•Judge Eugene Moore believes,
"One of the magical aspects of the
CASA program is that these vol-
unteers can bring an unbiased
perspective to the cases we proc-
ess. They don't come from a legal
— prosecuting or defending —
involvement. They are able, and
encouraged, to speak their opin-
ions without fear of being intimi-
dated by the so-called bureauc-
racy.
"When a child has special phys-
ical or emotional needs, the
CASAs have really proven them-
selves to be advocates in the
purest sense of the term, securing
community-wide services for
families, lending a helping
hand."
Don Duquette, clinical profes-
sor of law at the University of
Michigan, served with the 1982
Coleman Commission estab-
lished by the Michigan Supreme
Court. While he agrees with
commission findings that the
traditional social worker's
caseload ratio has been un-
realistically high, he cites other
reasons why children "get lost in
the system."
"At least 50 percent of the
abuse and neglect referrals made
to the Department of Social Serv-
ices are not substantiated," he
says. "But the legal tendency has
been to prefer to err on the part of
the child. Until new ways are de-
veloped to better identify which
kids are at highest risk, and
which kids come from families
which could make substantial
progress with the help of counsel-
ing or other therapeutic services,
the system will continue to be
crowded by those cases which fall
in the grey area."
Duquette, who directs the U-M
Law School's Child Advocacy
Law Clinic, supports the use of
trained volunteers to represent
children in child abuse and neg-
the legal aspects of the cases and
prepares trainees for what to ex-
pect in a hearing.
Marcia Aaron assigns cases to
volunteers once they have
finished their training. She also
acts as a liaison to the court.
All CASAs are offered monthly
in-service, follow-up sessions.
Discussions are held on legisla-
tion pertinent to CASA duties
and case experiences. Guest
speakers, from community serv-
ice agencies such as Haven and
Parents Anonymous, zero in on
problems relevant to child abuse
and neglect.
"What we try to impart to our
advocates is that if something
doesn't feel right, however subtle,
they should keep digging," Aaron
says. "There are always new re-
sources to explore. Marilyn and I
are available for consultation on
any aspect of any case.."
What an advocate cannot do is
attempt to play God, says Levine.
"One of the most challenging,
and difficult, aspects of a CASA's
role is to be able to put aside one's
personal value system and judge
the situation of a youngster in
the context of his cultural, socio-
economic and even religious his-
tory," she says. "You don't re-
move a child from a home, or re-
ject a future guardianship be-
cause what you see there does not
perpetuate your middle-class
values."
Oakland Probate Court Judge
Barry Grant commends NCJW's
CASA program for its "utmost
professionalism and enormous
contribution to assisting chil-
dren. My hope is that other coun-
ties will duplicate their example
of how valuable volunteers can be
in child welfare proceedings."
rrThey are able, and
encouraged to speak
their opinions
without fear of being
intimidated by the
so-called
bureaucracy."
lect proceedings under lawyer
supervision. His recent study for
Genessee County Juvenile Court
shows that laypersons "who were
carefully selected, trained and
under lawyer supervision, per-
formed as well as lawyers and
law students in representing
children," and that "who is
trained seems less important
than that some training take
place."
CASA volunteers receive train-
ing in two phases. Volunteers
spend a day in the NCJW office
where they are briefed on inter-
viewing techniques, the correct
way to perform home studies, and
the proper preparation of the
written recommendation. Mari-
lyn Levine conducts that phase,
which also includes running
CASAs through a mock case.
A second day is spent at Oak-
land County Probate Court. Ray
Sharp acquaints volunteers with
the courtrooms, shows them how
to access files and perform in-
take. Hugh Dean, the attorney
from the court's mental health
division, provides information on
❑
A Training Program for
New CASA volunteers will be
offered June 3-4. Individuals
interested in becoming a
CASA volunteer are invited
to call the NCJW office, 258-
6000 weekdays.
Deportation Is Upheld
New YOrk (JTA) — A three-
judge panel in federal court here
last week unanimously upheld
the deportation order against
Karl Linnas, an alleged Nazi war
criminal who was sentenced to
death in absentia in the Soviet
Union for his part in the execu-
tion of 12,000 people, including
2,000 Jews, at the Tartu concen-
tration camp in his native
Estonia during World War II.
Linnas, 66, was stripped of his_ ..
U.S. citizenship in 1981 and was
ordered deported to the Soviet
Union in 1983 by the U.S. Im-
migration and Naturalization
Service (INS). He lives in
Greenlawn, L.I.
The deportation order was af-
firmed by the Board of Immi-
gration Appeals last year. Lin-
nas took his case to the Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit
in Manhattan where it was re-
jected by a 3 to 0 vote. He may
still ask the full Second Circuit
Court to reconsider the panel's
decision or he could appeal - to
the U.S. Supreme Court.
Linnas appealed against the
deportation order on grounds
that it deprived him of his con-
stitutional rights of due process
and equal protection under the
law. But he lost his citizenship
in 1981 after a federal court in
Westbury, L.I. ruled that he had
concealed his past activities
when he entered the U.S. in 1951
and again when he was natural-
ized in 1060. The court upheld
government charges that Lin-
nas served as commandant of
the Tartu camp from 1941-43
and that he has personally
participated in killing inmates.
I
•.•
a
.f
r
.••••••
• ... N..
r
4" • •••I 4.. 1.
4.
..
4 . •
11•••
••• VW
t4
se• ••••
•
•
-••