TAHLEQUAH — When it comes to family court situations, particularly when child abuse or neglect is involved, children are often seen and not heard.

Fortunately, children in this area have a better chance of getting a voice in court, thanks to Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cherokee County.

While many may be familiar with CASA’s goals – to serve as an independent voice for children in area courts – the local agency also holds unique status. It is only one of five CASA’s nationwide that serve children in both state and tribal courts.

“CASA has 1,055 programs across the country,” said CASA Executive Director Jo Prout. “Of those, 15 are tribal-specific, meaning they serve only children involved in tribal courts. We are one of only five agencies that represent children in both state and tribal court.”

CASA of Cherokee Country volunteer advocates work with children in Cherokee and Adair counties and Cherokee Nation tribal court. While many volunteers work across the board in all three court systems, some elect to work only in one area.

“While we are always seeking advocates to work in all three systems, a person who becomes an advocate can elect to work exclusively in tribal court, or exclusively in state court,” said Prout. “We have one advocate who lives in Tulsa, and selected CASA of Cherokee Country because she wanted to work just with tribal court children. I pointed out Tulsa has a large, healthy CASA organization, but she wanted to come here, and we’re glad to have her. She puts a lot of miles on her car, driving back and forth.”

According to Prout, CASA has 28 active volunteers and three who are on leave.

“We could always use a whole lot more,”  she said.

Of the 81 children being served by CASA this year, 74 percent are Native American. Fourteen percent of children served in Adair County are Native American, compared to 25 percent of Cherokee County children.

Sandy Macauley, volunteer recruiter, trainer and coordinator for CASA of Cherokee Country, said some tribal children are handled through state court, depending on the circumstances surrounding the case.

“They go to Cherokee Nation court only if they’re taken from tribal trust land,” said Macauley. “Now, sometimes, Native American parents will ask that their case be moved from state court to tribal  court, which can be done.”

While most indigenous children CASA serves are Cherokee, Macauley said they’ve also taken a number of cases involving Comanche and Navajo tribes.

“Which sometimes brings in a secondary group, like Indian Child Welfare, in addition to the Department of Human Services,” said Prout. “Those agencies have strict guidelines they have to follow when working a case through the court system, with family reunification as the goal, while CASA volunteers are truly the only independent voice a child has. CASA volunteers truly work to provide an independent set of eyes and ears to the court. Judges in our service area seem to be very receptive to that fact.

Macauley said CASA volunteers often learn things about specific family situations that ICW and DHS don’t know about.

“For instance, if a child need immediate health care or clothing, a CASA volunteer often learns about it first,” said Macauley.

Considering the number of Native American children CASA of Cherokee County serves, Prout said she is happy with the solid relationship the agency has with both Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare and the Cherokee Nation court system.

“We are so fortunate for the attention given to this issue within the Cherokee Nation,” said Prout. “We have two judges, many Cherokee attorneys and a full compliment of Indian Child Welfare workers. We really have the best of both worlds, being able to work in both court systems. We have a great relationship with both ICW and DHS, which is not the case in many areas.”

Linda Woodward, director of Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare, said the tribe appreciates the efforts of CASA of Cherokee Country volunteers.

“CASA is an unbiased organization providing excellent information about the safety and well-being of children and families in our tribal court system,” said Woodward. “CASA workers are usually assigned just one or maybe two cases, allowing them to provide intensive work with children.”

Woodward said when CASA is assigned to a case in tribal court, it usually results in quicker decisions by court officials.

“CASA makes case decisions independently from Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare; however, our excellent working relationship and respect for each other’s abilities result in the best possible outcomes for children and families,” she said.

Cherokee Nation Attorney General Diane Hammons also applauds the work of CASA volunteers.

“We have always been proud, and privileged, to have CASA working with us on our tribal court juvenile cases,” said Hammons. “The CASA workers provide an invaluable service in lending additional support to children and families in crisis situations.”

Get involved

CASA volunteer advocate training will be offered in September. An in-depth preliminary interview is required, and background checks and reference checks are conducted prior to enrollment in the class.

Certification is granted when the prospective advocate completes the 30 hours of training plus six hours of courtroom observation.

Individuals over the age of 21 who are interested in becoming CASA volunteer advocates are asked to call CASA at 456-8788, or toll-free at (866) 400-8788.

The deadline for fall training applications is Tuesday, Aug. 31.