RESILIENT NH
profiles
‘Not giving up’ to help the state’s at-risk children Marty Sink and the tenacity and adaptability of CASA staff and volunteers BY L I I SA R AJ A L A
FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, Marty Sink and the network of staffers and volunteers at CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of New Hampshire have forged ahead to ensure children’s voices are heard in court. Sink’s personal experience with the foster care system prompted her to start up a New Hampshire chapter of the national organization, which trains and assigns volunteers to become guardians ad litem for children placed in foster care or whose parents are being investigated by the Division for Children, Youth and Families. From navigating CASA of NH’s initial introduction to the New Hampshire court system to adapting its existing procedures during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sink and her team have seen how systemic changes generate better outcomes. RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Sink first was introduced to court-appointed guardians ad litem as a foster parent. In the late 1980s and early ‘90s, guardians ad litem were typically attorneys who made recommendations to the court in a child’s best interest. However, Sink saw they were not getting the full picture of the child’s well-being, as they didn’t have the time to speak to foster parents and other individuals who regularly interacted with the child. “I knew the enormous caseloads both guardians and social workers were carrying, and the sheer volume didn’t allow them to do the personal touch work on these cases,” said Sink. “This whole idea of bringing lay people into (the courts) was foreign, but clearly could meet a need,” said Sink, who called the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem Association for Children to learn how to become a volunteer and was told, “‘New Hampshire doesn’t have a CASA program yet, but would you like to be involved in getting that started?’” 42 RESILIENT NH 2021
