Karen Nizar has a heart for advocacy. When Karen was first assigned to a case with four siblings, she stated that she could not take on all four children because of their multiple placements, so she decided to advocate to the child who was having the hardest time being in foster care.

Karen’s CASA child has moved at least seven times since she was assigned to the case. Through all of these hardships, Karen has not given up on her CASA child. She shows up for sibling visits, submits contact logs and court reports, attends court hearings, and various meetings all while making sure she follows up on what was discussed. She’s even taken on role of Educational Rights holder for her CASA child. One of the most recent meetings with her CASA child prompted Karen to write in her contact log, “I gave [*child’s name] a hug goodbye… this is the first time she seemed to connect with her hug. Other times I had hugged her, the engagement was zero”.

There were initially three CASA volunteers assigned to the large sibling case due to the children being in several different placements. Two of the CASAs were unfortunately unable to fully commit to the case, so Karen agreed to take on one of the other siblings, and there was a new CASA assigned to the other two siblings. The co-CASA recently had to withdraw from the case due to work-related obligations, so Karen graciously stepped up and decided to be the CASA for all four children.

My hats off to Karen for always being available for these children, learning their needs, and advocating for their best interests. I see the connections growing each and every time, and I truly appreciate it.

• Infant and Toddler Advocate Supervisor, Myetta Beavers