PLACERVILLE . INFO

When Placerville pilot Patricia Collins died in the crash of her small plane at a Washington airport last month, fellow aviators remembered her for her service with the Flying Samaritans. 

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For 18-year-old Lisa Watson, the memories were far more personal.

"She was the only person that remembered I didn't like ketchup on my hot dog, but I liked mustard," Watson recalled last week.

Watson was 4 years old when Collins became her court- appointed special advocate. For the next eight years, she was the person Watson turned to for advice and encouragement.

"Pat was someone I could count on, no matter what. I could call her at 2 in the morning and she would listen," Watson said recently during an interview at the Placerville office of Court Appointed Special Advocates, commonly known as CASA.

Watson said her birth parents were unable to care for her, and she lived in several foster homes before being adopted at age 12 by CASA program manager Cathie Watson.

The organization, which marked its 15th anniversary in El Dorado County this year, has gone from serving about 60 youths in 1992 to serving more than 300 countywide.

CASA trains volunteers who are, in turn, appointed by Superior Court judges to represent the interests of children involved in the court system.

They advocate on behalf of youngsters who have been removed from homes because of abuse or neglect, as well for youths on probation. They also serve children caught up in custody cases in Family Court, and they help youths aging out of the foster care system make the transition to living independently as adults.

"The program has grown. At the same time, the needs have grown," said Don Vanderkar, president of CASA's board of directors.

Vanderkar said he became an advocate eight years ago while working full time as an environmental engineer with Aerojet. He worked with the same youth for eight years, until the young man turned 18.

Vanderkar, who retired from Aerojet in 2002, said he's spent much of his life working with children. He and his wife were foster parents and helped with church youth groups.

A CASA volunteer's job goes beyond befriending and mentoring a child or adolescent.

"You need to be an advocate and work on behalf of the child. You need to speak up in court," Vanderkar said.

The advocates attend all court proceedings.

"You're there with the attorneys and judges, and you make a written report," he explained. "You can't sit back and be quiet."

Though the youths also are represented by social workers and attorneys, CASA volunteers play a key role in assuring the child's welfare, said Tammy Troyer, CASA's director of fund development. They interview foster parents, physicians, teachers and therapists and make recommendations to the court.

Executive Director Susan Dorsey said the judges listen to the advocates. "It's very empowering," she said.

Through the court-appointed special advocate, "the judge really gets to know the child on a personal level," said Suzanne Kingsbury, the Superior Court's presiding judge.

CASA volunteers alert the court to a child's likes, dislikes and anxieties. If a youth has expressed an interest in music, for example, the judge might develop a probation order requiring community service in that field, she said.

Kingsbury said court- appointed special advocates also are often successful in de-fusing tensions between parents in custody battles and persuading them to do what is best for the child.

Prospective volunteers must participate in 30 hours of initial training, as well as annual follow-up sessions. All candidates are reviewed by a trained therapist, fingerprinted and subjected to background checks, Dorsey said.

Volunteers typically devote 10 to 15 hours a month to CASA activities and usually work with one or two youths at a time. The average length of a case is 18 months, Dorsey said, though some like Vanderkar's have continued for years.

Volunteers can take children on outings, she said, noting that liability insurance allows them to drive youngsters places. But court rules prohibit advocates from taking children to their homes, Dorsey said.

CASA seeks to recruit more men. Only 10 percent to 15 percent of advocates are men, Dorsey said. Focus groups are planned with current male volunteers to discuss ways to attract more men to the program.

Youths in the juvenile justice system particularly benefit from male role models, Judge Kingsbury said, adding that she also would like to see more advocates from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The advocate's job can be challenging, Vanderkar said. Children who have grown up in the foster care system often come to the program with a number of issues.

"They've learned to survive by sometimes lying and manipulating," he said. "You need to be patient and continue to work with them."

One of CASA's more recent undertakings is a transitional support program to prepare youths for adult responsibilities.

Youths 14 through 21 years old have an opportunity to participate in the Town of Independence, a four-day summer camp program, where they receive play money that they must decide how to spend.

The camp allows them to learn through experience rather than being told what to do, Troyer said.

Youths also learn how to prepare résumés and interview for jobs.

CASA is a nonprofit organization with a current annual budget of about $545,000 and 10 paid staff members, Dorsey said. About one-third of the funding comes from state and federal grants and two-thirds from individual and corporate donations, and fundraising events.

In addition to those who serve as advocates, CASA receives support from Friends of CASA, a volunteer group that assists with fundraising, public relations and community education. Major fundraising events include "A Casablanca Evening," a black-tie gala to be held Sept. 29 at the Sequoia Restaurant in Placerville.

The organization also is known for its spring box lunch sale, in which more than 100 volunteers sell, prepare and deliver box lunches countywide and as far away as Rancho Cordova, Troyer said.

For more information about CASA of El Dorado County, call (530) 622-9882, or visit the Web site at www.casaeldorado.org.