Case Specialist

REPORTS TO:

Manager of Specialists

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:
None

JOB TYPE:
Full-time

Jackson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that mobilizes community volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect and are under the jurisdiction of the Jackson County Family Court. Our clients face multiple risks, including permanent separation from their birth families due to factors such as substance use disorders, untreated mental health, and intimate partner violence.

These challenges are often rooted in poverty, community violence, and intergenerational trauma.

To mitigate these risks, CASA Volunteer Advocates and staff engage in fact-finding and relationship-building with child clients to assess their needs and make informed recommendations to the court. Collaboration with children and their families is a core value of our work and is essential to achieving effective advocacy and just outcomes within a complex child welfare system.

Our model is simple: each child is assigned a rigorously screened and extensively trained Volunteer Advocate or Case Specialist and Staff Attorney who work together to represent the child's best interests and individualized advocacy grounded in evidence-based practices. Together, they help ensure the best possible outcomes for children and increase the likelihood of safe family reunification.

Connection:
We believe that every person deserves meaningful relationships with supportive and loving adults, family, and community and preservation of their cultural heritage, traditions, and identity.

Respect:
We value people of all backgrounds and identities and believe that every person deserves to be honored, included, and heard.

Collaboration:

We recognize that effective progress and problem-solving require diverse voices, ideas, and perspectives.

Integrity:
We honor our commitments to our children and the Court with transparency, honesty, and fairness.

Responsibility:
We maximize our resources and support through accountability to our children, stakeholders, and community.

Working closely with Jackson County CASA’s Staff Attorneys, the Case Specialist is responsible for the immediate engagement with child clients newly appointed to the agency and the preliminary investigation into their circumstances. Pending the assignment of a Volunteer Advocate, the Case Specialist will provide initial and on-going case support to children represented by the agency to ensure that those children receive the highest quality of service and representation, including advocating for timely services and family-based permanency.

• Completes an immediate and thorough investigation of the case and explores the child’s circumstances to ensure safety while minimizing disruption to the child’s world.
• Meets with the child as early as possible after appointment to introduce CASA and the court process in a developmentally appropriate way, assess their decision-making capacity, ascertain their wishes regarding placement/family time/participation in services, and gather other information to understand their perspective and how decisions will impact their experience.
• Engages with the child welfare agency, family members, parents, and others to establish a working relationship, collect all available information about the child and family, and identify additional information sources for further investigation.
• Formulates recommendations regarding placement, family time, and immediate service needs for the child, parents, and family to present at the initial court hearing.
• Ensures seamless transfer of the case to the on-going CASA team…