Judith Wasow

Judith Wasow has a background in child development and, once her own children were grown, she looked for a way to use her expertise to give back to the community. Having known others involved with CASA, she decided to give it a shot.

Now, she’s been a CASA volunteer for 25 years! She’s had seven cases during that time and she’s still in contact with a few of the kids, even after they’ve aged out of care.

For Judith, CASA provides a unique opportunity to be truly useful; it’s a direct interaction and a tangible contribution. There’s extensive training, tons of support and resources (including from the CASA staff), and then that person goes into the community and works directly with a child and the family. Judith sees the impact as enormous because the help is immediate and unfiltered. “It’s something you can see.”

She’s also learned about herself as a CASA. “I thought I would intuit so many things. I was naive. I still am, but I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned more from my kids than they’ve learned from me, I’m sure. And I’m really grateful for that!”

It’s not about being a hero, Judith says. “Be there, show up, listen.” It also requires having realistic expectations and not expecting miracles or overwhelming gratitude. We can’t always fix it – but we can always hear it. And if we can’t hear it, we need to keep trying to listen.” The kids are worthy of that, she says, someone is here because they are worthy of that. Not because CASAs are paid, not because they get assigned, but because the kids are worthy.