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Volunteer Advocate Tips

5 Secrets for Great Report Writing

Begin work on your court report with plenty of time before court. This will allow time for you to clarify any questionable information, submit the report to your supervisor for editing and ultimately get the report to the court by their deadline.
Make the report child-centered.
Be accurate. This means reporting objectively and factually—presenting exact information free from errors, misstatements and personal judgments.
Use the fewest number of words possible to describe an action or occurrence. Avoid using unnecessary words or technical jargon. Don’t give the judge information she or he doesn’t need to know.
Make a case in the body of your report that is directly linked to your recommendations.

View the sample hearing report from National CASA's training curriculum.

Advocating for Minority Children

Take time to understand the community you serve and the children you are working with. This can include researching local child welfare data.
Educate yourself about racial disproportionality and racial disparities in the child welfare system. Seek out additional training, and help raise awareness about these issues.
Know who you are. Exploring your own identity can help you understand how important a child’s identity is to him or her—which will in turn help you advocate for him or her.
Make recommendations that the youth of color you are advocating for has access to his cultural heritage in whatever way he can. Help promote a sense of pride in his culture and ethnicity.
Explore kinship care whenever possible, and look for non-relatives with close relationships who could also be helpful, such as godparents.
Promote the family group decision- making model and help children keep an intact sense of community.
Work closely with your CASA program on implementing activities to address disproportionality and racial disparities. Ask where you can be of most benefit.
If you belong to a minority group, help recruit other volunteers of your race and ethnicity.