So the story goes

A young mom with a newborn still wants her “life” and that includes drugs and alcohol. To keep the infant from interfering with her life, mom continues to dip the pacifier in drugs to keep the infant asleep and not be a bother.

A babysitter is intent on video games and the young child just won’t quit being a pest….in the heat of anger and frustration the sitter sits on the young child – repeatedly to the point of fracturing the leg. Within a couple months it has started to heal following surgery however it is already ¾ inch shorter than the other the impairment and damage is permanent.

Dad as primary care for his young kids – gets arrested for drugs and paraphernalia ~ kids have been exposed to violence, caught in drug trafficking and witnessed transactions and been in danger when deals go bad.

In the midst of a drug sting, a pregnant mother is arrested and when asked if she had been using drugs the woman states she has not. For whatever reason, they believe her…after all, when people are arrested they don’t lie to anyone. Months later the baby is born and tests positive for meth and opiates.

Close the newspaper and set back… be glad that’s only in the newspapers.

That is what most people do ~ feel sorry for them, say a prayer for them and continue on with their daily routine. After all...this is only a story about some rare incident off somewhere…why did we bother to even read it?

This is when a CASA volunteer steps in – a Court Appointed Special Advocate – the voice of a child in court. A CASA volunteer is appointed to each case of abuse and neglect that is filed in the courts.

CASA are trained people within the communities from all walks of life. They have a 30 hour training and are appointed at the discretion and order of the District Judge. Within the 17th Judicial District of Montana are the counties of Blaine, Phillips and Valley are with the Prairie CASA. The program has been serving children since 1985 and original trainee/advocate, Mary Pyette of Chinook is still on board working mostly in the mentor/support areas. She has the distinction of being the longest serving CASA in Montana. A CASA volunteer interviews the children (if age appropriate), teachers, neighbors, parents and community members and prepares a report for the court stating what is in the best interest of the child. They are not the ones who remove or return children to the homes, they are the voice of the child once removed.

The National CASA has guidelines for program operations and one is the volunteer to child ratio and right now the local CASA program is in need of volunteers due to the case load.

Those scenarios weren’t made up, they are real past case situations from within THIS jurisdiction. It does happen here and Prairie CASA needs your help. Currently we are recruiting volunteers and would like to visit with individuals who are interested and can offer their time, skills, and abilities to help a child. And the CASA volunteer in the scenario involving the babysitter was the only one who asked the sitter if he had ever abused or molested the child and he stated he had; with that input the sitter was sent to prison for sexual intercourse without consent on a minor – the child was less than 2 years old.

Every child needs a voice. Is that voice yours?

Applications are available by contacting Program Director, Kari Hould or by emailing to [email protected] or by mailing a request to Prairie CASA at PO Box 505 in Malta, MT 59538.

You may also visit with board members: David Pippin in Glasgow, MT, Vivian Taylor in Saco, MT, Terri Cole in Dodson, MT or Mary Pyette in Chinook, MT.

Can you do it? Probably – if you have a couple hours a month to offer, consider the cause. We are looking for men and women ages 21 and older. Once asked what to tell people when asked “how can you do this?”… I was told.. “if you knew you could and didn’t, how would you feel?”

There are children waiting for a voice, Prairie CASA is asking you to consider being the voice for an abused and neglected child. Make a difference, one child at a time.