Deborah Frederick’s life and career is dedicated to helping Colorado families

Deborah Frederick understands what kids go through when they enter the child welfare system.

She was two when her mom left, and 15 when her dad passed away. During childhood, she endured instability and stints in group homes before quitting school at 18 to bus tables.

Deborah used her very first paycheck to buy a winter coat.

“If I had had someone looking out for me, if someone could have been there to speak out for one of us, our lives would have definitely ended up differently,” she says.

She goes on to express what a wonder it is that neither she nor her siblings ended up addicted to drugs.

Nowadays, Deborah has built a decades-long career that’s a testament to how deeply she cares for children and families involved in the family court system.

In fact, she was one of the very first professionals in Colorado authorized under the Licensed Legal Paraprofessional (LLP) program (which first became effective in 2024) to provide legal advice, draft documents, and represent clients in family law matters without the need for direct attorney supervision.

In a nutshell, she’s a paralegal who passed the bar and is now authorized to provide legal services to family law clients at a cost lower than what attorneys charge.

She’s also a volunteer in CASA’s Supervised Exchange & Parenting Time (SEPT) program which means she facilitates visits between parents and their children when there’s a court order in place for visits to be supervised.

When asked why she became a SEPT volunteer, she said it’s a mission that just really hits home for her.

“Just from being in the work I’ve been doing, I think kids need to see that sometimes a parent is not a parent but it’s not because they don’t want to be,” she explains. “Sometimes the parent is not a parent because they can’t be. Because there is addiction, because there are mental health issues.”

In her seven years facilitating visits in CASA’s family visitation center, Deborah has seen many heartwarming moments that remind her of why she does this work.

“I remember this dad that hadn’t seen his kids in like 6 months. I remember when the two kids were walking down the hallway and the looks on the dad’s face,” she recalls. “He just wrapped his arms around those boys and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. The kids cried. There were no words. That has stayed with me and probably will forever.”

Deborah believes that by enabling struggling parents to visit with their kids, the SEPT program helps these parents stay motivated to overcome the dark times in their lives.

When she’s not helping families as an LLP or SEPT volunteer, Deborah spends time with her two grown children and five grandchildren, camps with her 1969 vintage camper, crafts, and plays in a competitive softball league.

Want to be like Deborah? Check out CASA’s SEPT program volunteer opportunities here: https://www.casappr.org/programs/sept/