Community Behavioral Health Agency Research Paper

Community behavioural health agencies are primarily non-profit organizations that provide mental health and other types of services to the relevant people in need in the society of the community. The agencies focus on addressing the community’s needs and ensuring all people’s well-being. The selected community behavioral health agency is Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). CASA is a national agency in the US that supports and helps advocates appointed by the court to advocate for neglected and abused children in the community or society. The state CASA provides training to volunteers in the community who decide to work for the district to help deal with child abuse and neglect. The judge usually appoints the CASA, and their primary role is to gather data and information in the community and make recommendations that improve the lives of children. The main focus is on children; therefore, the advocates keep in mind the children’s wishes and interests. Thus, the CASA agency ensures that children have a better life by providing they are not neglected and abused.

The mission, Vision, and services provided by CASA

The mission statement of CASA states that together with the local and state programs, the Agency supports and promotes the advocates appointed by the courts to ensure that every child who has experienced neglect or abuse is safe, has the opportunity to thrive, and has a permanent home. The mission, therefore, emphasizes the well-being of children exposed to abuse and neglect (Gershun & Terrebonne, 2018). Through the task, it can be seen that CASA ensures the safety of children in the community. Since abused or neglected children often lack a friendly environment, CASA provides them with a healthy and friendly permanent home that gives them a chance to thrive like other children.

The Vision of CASA states, “A world where every child who has experienced neglect and abuse is given the opportunity to thrive in a loving and safe home.” The Vision of the Agency still emphasizes abused and neglected children by ensuring that they are safe and have the opportunity to thrive (Gershun & Terrebonne, 2018). The Agency is guided by values such as collaboration with other professionals, integrity, and respect to achieve the main objectives. Stewardship and quality of the services are the different core values of the Agency. CASA ensures that excellent services are given to the major stakeholders. The leading service provided by CASA includes advocacy for abused or neglected children under the court’s jurisdiction (Gershun & Terrebonne, 2018). The Agency is like the ears and eyes of the judges and courts for children. The Agency also provides mental health services for affected children and families.

Addressing social justice issues in the community on a micro and macro level

CASA agency addresses social justice issues in the community on a micro and macro level in different ways. The micro-level of the Agency is at the local level, while the macro-level includes the national level. At the local level, CASA ensures it creates awareness in the community that child abuse and neglect are bad and against the law (Mackarey, 2019). CASA uses volunteers and donors at the local level to create awareness of the negative impact of child abuse and neglect and the action to be taken. Local people aware of child neglect and abuse can report the cases with the help of advocates, which leads to social justice for children in the community (Mackarey, 2019). At the macro or national level, CASA ensures social justice by providing enough funds to deal with child abuse and neglect. The macro-level agency also provides enough support from the government and international organizations to ensure that the abused and neglected children have advocacy. The Agency provides that the government creates rules and policies that ensure all children have opportunities to thrive and live safely. CASA also develops the standards of training advocates and people in the community who deal with child abuse and neglect (Mackarey, 2019). It is the role of the Agency to ensure the relationship between the judiciary, executive, and legislature is good to help meet the objective of the Agency, which promotes social justice. The CASA develops and implements best practices that ensure children are safe.

Social-political pressures that may influence CASA

Child welfare is an area influenced by various social and political factors affecting the CASA agency. Different pressures come from child welfare practices. One of the pressures is the argument that abused and neglected children should not stay in homes where they are placed permanently. Many people argue that the permanent stay of children in home-based placements affects their emotional and social growth (Osborne et al., 2019). Therefore, the Agency requires children to stay in home-based stations permanently, but some claim it is unhealthy. The other social pressure comes with the legal system, where some parents hire lawyers to prevent their children from going to home-based placements. Mental disorders leading to child abuse and neglect are high, and most layers rely on the evidence of mental conditions to prevent children from being given a safe place to stay (Osborne et al., 2019). CASA has to follow the law; in some cases, it loses the case, leading to losses. The issue of confirmed mental disorders among family members adds more pressure on ensuring child safety, which affects the CASA agency.

References

Gershun, M., & Terrebonne, C. (2018). Child welfare system interventions for children and families: Highlighting the role of court-appointed special advocates. Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care, 48(9), 215-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2018.08.003

Mackarey, A. M. (2019). Examining the Role of Court Appointed Special Advocates in Improving Access to Care for Vulnerable Pediatric Populations. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.144.2

Osborne, C., Warner-Doe, H., & Lawson, J. (2019). Who gets a CASA? Selective characteristics of children appointed a casa advocate. Children and Youth Services Review, 98, 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.12.020

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