[Islam-Online- Society]

Every day, we are bombarded with images of children in desperate situations. In the last few years, we have seen an unprecedented amount of children shooting other children. We see commercials begging us to help starving children in far away countries. We hear stories about children that need homes or that are bouncing from one foster home to the next. "It's a terrible problem," we say. "What kind of people are these?" we wonder. Unfortunately, the problem hits much closer to home. According to a report by the United States Abvisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, "More children die at the hands of their parents than from falls, choking on food, suffocation, drowning or residential fires. More children die from abuse and neglect in the home then from gunfire in the streets. Near fatal abuse and neglect leaves 18,000 children permanently disabled each year, and 142,000 are seriously injured from severe abuse that did not kill them."

In 1875, a charity worker found a malnourished and severely beaten 10-year-old girl named Mary Ellen. Disovering that the child was being abused by her parents, the worker searched in vain for someone to help. There was no agency at that time that could come between a parent and a child. Children were considered property of the parents and the family was free to do with them what they wished. The worker contacted her friend, Henry Bergh, who was the president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. One version of this remarkable story says that the SPCA then made the case that the child had at least the same rights given to an abused dog. A judge empathized with the case, the child was removed from the home, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was born. The first organization of its kind, by 1900 the SPCC had a chapter in every state.

Islam provided children with certain inherent rights. However, the lack of their application made the idea of children having rights of their own a startingly revolutionary one. Individual rights were never extended to reach inside the family structure. Various juvenile deliquent organizations and orphanages did little more than attempt to keep children off the streets. The concept of parental abuse or neglect was a non-issue because parents had the right to discipline and raise their children as they saw fit. In 1961, A ground-breaking article by Dr. Henry Kempe, entitled "The Battered Child Syndrome," was the first time a scientific basis had been made regarding the effects of child abuse. A few years later, the U.S. Congress held hearings and in 1974, the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was passed. This legislation provides financial assistance to states and requires that every child in an abuse or neglect case must have a Guardian Ad Litem to protect their interests. Guardian Ad Litems (more commonly known as GALs) are attorneys chosen by the court to represent clients who are not considered competent to represent themselves. Until 1974, there was no one to represent the needs of the child in the court system. Despite the efforts of the GALs and the other human service professionals, it was obvious that something was still missing. Guardian Ad Litems are underpaid, overburdened, and often not trained in this field. Human service professionals are extremely overloaded, often having hundreds of active cases open at a time. Despite everyone's good intentions, the children's need were still not being met.

A new approach was needed. David Soukup, then Presiding Judge of King County Superior Courth in Seattle, Washington, began looking for alternative solutions. He decided that trained community volunteers would provide just the right balance of training and objectivity. These volunteers know enough about the system to properly represent the child's interests, but are far away enough from the system to provide an objective view. These Court Appointed Special Advocates, otherwise known as CASAs, are devoted to the child's interests in a manner that no one inside the system can afford to be. Yet they have the training to understand and properly report what is in that child's best interest. CASAs do for the children what one would expect of the parents: listen and make an informed decision, based on hours and hours of investigation as to what is the next best step in the life of that child. As Judge Soukup describes it, "I had to make tough decisions. I had to decide whether to take a child from the only home he's ever known, or leave him someplace where he might possibly be abused. I needed someone who could tell me what was best for that child - from the child's viewpoint. That's what a CASA does."

My Experience with CASA

Last month, I was sworn-in by a juvenile court judge and I became an official Court Appointed Special Advocate for children of abuse and neglect in the Fairfax County, Virginia court system. Like most people, I never realized exactly what these children go through. I knew there were problems, and I heard stories about kids being bounced from one foster care home to the other. It is easy for us to look away from the problem; to assume there is someone taking care of the problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case. These kids are being hurt, both by their abuser and by the system, and no one is looking out for them.

Just out of college and optimistic about the ability to make a difference, I found myself quite enamored with the CASA program. The more I learned about what CASAs do, the more surprised I was that more people didn't know what a CASA was. There is a bottom line to this complex problem: children need stability. Parents who abuse their children do not, by definition, want to hurt them. In fact, the bond in these families is often surprisingly strong. What a CASA gives a child that they do not otherwise have is stability. These children, as they enter the system, have numerous people looking out for their well-being. However, there is tremendous turnover, thus depriving the child of another potentially stable, helping relationship. Social workers, therapists and teachers all come and go. A CASA is there to provide support and and lend an ear to these children throughout their ordeal. They will often be the one constant in the child's life for the months and years that he or she might spend in the system.

Children that are in the court system because they have been abused or neglected are left surprisingly unsupervised. Social workers are overworked and grossly underpaid. They have little time to focus on one child. Foster parents often have very little background on the children they take in. Obviously, the parents are not providing the necessary care. Also, the social workers and teachers and therapists, even the GALs, often change. The children are left with no stable adult in their life. Stability for these children is essential. Trust is a difficult concept for them, and the constant movement of adults around them often amplifies this problem. This a vital part of the role of a CASA.

A Call for Diversity

Unfortunately, the people who take the time to volunteer as CASAs are very different than the children they serve. These children come from all economic backgrounds, ethnicities and religions. The make-up of the majority of CASAs is college-educated females, overwhelmingly Caucasian. Especially affected by this situation are the boys. While the children are almost equally boys and girls, 87% of CASA volunteers are women. Often times these boys, especially those who are a little older, are desperately in need of a stable adult male in their life. It is for this reason that increasing the diversity in the ranks of such workers is vital.

Child abuse is a problem that affects every community, including Muslims. Statistics show Muslim children are also vulnerable to abuse and neglect. As a Muslim in the CASA program, I feel that it is a great disservice to our Muslim brothers and sisters when we ignore their plight. I have stressed that the CASAs role is important because they offer the child some sense of stability and security in their life. What a CASA cannot provide to a child, unless they are of similar backgrounds, is stability and security in their ethic or religious identity. Just as little boys often need an adult male CASAs to provide them with an adequate role model, children of a particular religion or ethnic group do much better with a CASA who they can identify with and look to as an example. Muslim children in these situations of abuse and neglect need Muslim CASAs, both men and women, who can provide for them something that their families are not able to. It is unlikely they will grow up to be Muslim themselves if the CASAs and all the other service workers and the foster parents are not Muslim.

We have a duty to look out for all children is situations like these. As Muslims, we have an especially urgent duty to at least make sure that we, are representing our interests in organizations such as CASA, and in social work in general. We cannot turn a blind eye to the problems that exist in our communities. We are needed.

Hadith - Bukhari and Muslim

Abu Salmah related that Abu Hurayrahsaid, "The Prophet of Allah kissed Hasan ibn 'Ali while Aqra' ibn Habis was sitting nearby. Aqra' said, 'I have ten children and have never kissed one of them.' The Prophet looked at him and said, 'Those who show no mercy will be shown no mercy.'"

www.casanet.org

www.nationalcasa.org

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