Thank you Board Chair Ann Ahlstrom for your reaching out to the volunteers in the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program. They have had a hard time keeping spirits up with underappreciation and office politics these past few years. Your words are insightful, accurate, and very much appreciated.
Former CASA Mike Tikkanen
From Ann Ahlstrom (bold emphasis from KARA)
August 19, 2024
Greetings Minnesota Volunteer Guardians ad Litem:
You are receiving this letter because you are a current volunteer with the Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Program. The Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Board recognizes and appreciates your service to Minnesota children and families advocating for the best interests of the children you have been appointed to represent.
The board acknowledges these have not been easy times for volunteers with the program, that you may have felt unappreciated, may have doubted the program’s commitment to volunteers as valuable assets to our advocacy efforts, and that you have received mixed or no messages about the status of volunteer guardians.
As chair of the Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Board, I want to assure, you are valued, and we are committed to supporting and building capacity for volunteers to work in the program.
The service you provide is necessary and, wisely, provides a statutorily required independent voice for children. The need for this independent voice is imperative to a well-functioning child welfare system. In recent years the Guardian ad Litem Program paused recruitment and training of new volunteers.
This pause, along with other factors, resulted in severe diminution of the size of the volunteer program. In fact, as you know, there was an effort to stop the use of volunteers altogether. In January of this year, the Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Board voted not to discontinue the use of volunteers and has recommitted to the volunteer program.
The board created a workgroup comprised of board members and management to look at strengthening the use of volunteers. That workgroup is recommending that strengthening the use of volunteer guardians begins with a gradual rebuild of the volunteer program in Hennepin County and with continued support and recognition of volunteer work everywhere in the state it is occurring. This is the beginning of strengthening the volunteer program andnext phases will be developed as we move forward together. Strengthening the volunteer program in Hennepin includes:
- asking CASA Minnesota to help with recruitment of volunteers providing training and supports for volunteers to implement adherence to the same practice standards and policies as employees.
- asking the legislature for additional money for adequate training, supervision, and technology supports for volunteers.
In the near future, a position description for new volunteers in Hennepin County will be posted on the state website. CASA has agreed to direct interested persons to the website to receive information about the requirements for volunteers and the application process. We are planning on a series of recruitment classes of up to five people so the program can have small successes to start the rebuilding process.
Thank you for years of valuable service. Let’s move forward together with all in the Guardian Program, volunteers and employees alike, to build a program that affords quality advocacy for all children under our responsibility.
Sincerely, Ann S. Ahlstrom Ann S. Ahlstrom Chair, Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Board
