House Journal: Page 44: Wednesday, January 14, 1998

CASA makes a difference for youngsters who might otherwise
become lost in the juvenile court system_often a very dramatic
difference.  Thanks to your support, CASA is reaching more
children than ever before.
Last year we added nine counties to our CASA program.  With
these additions, CASA is now operating in a total of twenty-two
counties, covering all eight judicial districts.  Next fiscal
year, we hope to take CASA into more counties so that we can
reach more children in need.  
Anthropologist Margaret Meade, once said, "Never doubt that a
small group of thoughtfully committed citizens can change the
world.  Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Iowa is blessed with many generous people_volunteers and
professionals_ who dedicate their lives to helping abused and
neglected children.  Recently, the Supreme Court, together with
the Friends of Iowa CASA foundation, established the Child
Advocate of the Year Award to recognize the special people who
work tirelessly on behalf of Iowa's children.  It's my privilege
to announce the first award winner_Patty McKee, a shelter
caseworker at Jasper County Youth Services.  I will present the
award at the courtroom reception immediately following this
address.  I look forward to seeing all of you there.   
"It's time to light a fire under Iowa's child welfare system." 
These are the words of Dr. Jim McCullaugh, one of the members of
a special Supreme Court committee that is examining Iowa's child
welfare system.  After extensive study, the committee found
serious inadequacies in the state's procedures for termination
of parental rights and adoption.
What are some of the problems?
"/U"	Unacceptable delays,
"/U"	Children left in temporary placement too long,
"/U"	Judges do not have fast access to key information,
"/U"	Parents do not know the serious consequences of removal and
placement, and
"/U"	Parties and their attorneys rarely confer before court
hearings.
With the help of juvenile justice professionals from around the
state, the committee developed solutions to these problems. 
Several proposals involve statutory changes that will speed up
the adoption process and provide better information to parents. 
I ask your approval of these proposals, which we will be
furnishing to you.
There are other proposals that require further study.  The
committee recommended more review hearings and less time between
hearings.  These changes could vastly improve judicial oversight
of these cases if there are more judges to handle the extra
hearings.  We have asked the committee to determine the number
of judges that would be needed to accomplish its worthy goal. 
We advise you to withhold acting on this specific recommendation
pending the outcome of the committee's study. 
At this point, I want to briefly discuss our need for judges in
general.  We appreciate your response to our requests for more
judges in recent years.  The added judge power has made a
tremendous difference in our ability to administer 

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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