VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Mary Beth O'Brien Nominated for State CASA of the Year

Mary Beth O'Brien, a Court Appointed Special Advocate for 10 years

Eleven local children know a better life because of the work of Mary Beth O'Brien. These children were threatened with an unstable and unknowable future, but now have what many take for granted - chances to grow, thrive, and be successful. It is for Mary Beth's contributions to the futures of these children and to the betterment of her community that we nominate her for 2011 GAL/CASA of the Year.

Mary Beth has worked with children for over a decade. She has been a CASA volunteer for 10 years and during that time has worked with 11 children of varying ages. She has been a group counselor and assistant camp director at CYO Camp Rancho Framasa since 1999, where she works with children from a variety of backgrounds and abilities. A background in psychology and graduate research, along with time spent working at an adolescent psychiatric treatment center, gives her the benefits of research and science when she works with children living through trauma. More importantly, that background gives her the center to keep professionalism and personal views separate, which can be difficult in a world of sometimes severe abuse and neglect. Mary Beth has been commended for her "compassion, good judgment, and sincere desire to do what was best for the child" by the foster mother of one of her cases.

Mary Beth shows support and dedication to the cause of children at every level available. She works with children directly, but also works with other volunteers, helping to ensure that everyone is as fully prepared as they can be before they insert themselves into the lives of an abused or neglected child. Mary Beth comes to speak to volunteers in training, offering her wisdom and insights to volunteers interested in helping children but maybe lacking valuable experience. She mentors new volunteers to provide them practical and emotional support, an invaluable service for a person who may not be fully prepared to deal with the difficult realities of seeing abuse and neglect first-hand. She has even gone to a local church to help secure grant funds for CASA.

Mary Beth is a determined person who demonstrates on a daily basis her dedication to children and to her community, both at her job and at CASA. Not everyone can spend four years on a single case and then immediately jump to another one. Not everyone can face the ugly side of their community in an effort to help provide a safe and secure future for its most vulnerable people. Not everyone can dedicate themselves so fully to a cause.

But many people can. People like Mary Beth O'Brien inspire people to act. The work she does with children can be quantified with case numbers and successful placements. But what cannot be quantified is the way she can inspire people around her to act and take charge of their community. Mary Beth is an inspiration to people looking to do more. That inspiration turns people to organizations like CASA, where children without a voice are advocated for in court. It is for these reasons that we nominate Mary Beth O'Brien for 2011 GAL/CASA Volunteer of the Year.

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

CASA Volunteer Lorraine Merriman Nominated for National Honors

Lorraine Merriman, a Court Appointed Special Advocate for 13 years

One of Monroe County CASA's volunteers was nominated for a national distinction.

Lorraine Merriman was nominated for the G.F. Bettineski Child Advocate of the Year Award. The award is given each year to recognize CASA or Guardian Ad Litum (GAL) volunteers who have "made significant contributions promoting the best interests of abused and neglected children."

Lorraine, a CASA of almost four years, has advocated for 11 children in five separate cases. That work load amounts to over 1,000 hours of time dedicated to the cause of advocating for abused and neglected children in Monroe County.

Deborah Dunning, Lorraine's CASA supervisor, has seen first-hand the good work that Lorraine does for CASA and the community. "Lorraine is an inspiration to me," Dunning said. "She provides an invaluable service to the children she serves through her diligent search for information and accuracy."

For the kind of work Lorraine has been volunteering for, information and accuracy are vital. The legal system lives and dies on accuracy, and the precision required for someone working with a court becomes even more important when children are involved.

With a gift for research and objectivity, Lorraine has been instrumental in conveying concise and accurate facts to judges during court. Her clarity and sense of judgment translate into an equity that transcends case difficulty or personal feelings. She maintains a balance of steadfast convictions and a willingness to adopt new plans, giving families and children the stability they need with the options that best suit each person individually.

Her standards of equity and determination can be demonstrated in a 22-month case that terminated in the Indiana Court of Appeals. After having her reports submitted as part of the Appeals hearing, the court affirmed Lorraine's findings and further stated that there was no indication of bias in her reports. Even after 22 months of being close to a child and their family Lorraine managed to maintain a sense of professional distance that in turn helped that child find the help they needed.

Juvenile Court Judge Frances Hill, in a letter to support the nomination, reiterated the excellent skills and habits Lorraine possesses. "These traits and abilities, combined with Lorraine's positive but firm demeanor, qualify her as the outstanding CASA in my Court," Hill said. "She is an inspiration to me, and provides an invaluable service to the Court...A 'Lorraine' only comes around once in the lifetime of a judge."

An artist and silversmith by trade, Lorraine has donated her talents to CASA as a designer as well. During her time at CASA she has made various t-shirt designs and pieces of jewelry to be sold at the various events CASA holds during the year. She has also used her business to help promote CASA by selling raffle tickets and holiday cards.

It is these activities, in which Lorraine becomes ambassador on top of advocate that prompted Kristin Bishay, executive director of Monroe County CASA, to opt for nominating Lorraine for national distinction. For Bishay, the decision was simple. "Lorraine handles herself with much poise and grace in the most difficult situations," Bishay said. "As the Executive Director of Monroe County CASA, I have come to rely upon Lorraine in many capacities. Not only has she proven herself to be the most ardent advocate for children, she has become our most compassionate ambassador as well."

If you need another voice to show you just how important Lorraine's work has been in the life of a child, you can hear it from one of her CASA children. 'Johnny,' a child Lorraine once worked with, still meets with her every now and again for lunch. Throughout the entire CASA process, Lorraine was always there for him.

She was there as he went from being behind in school to graduating two years early. And she's still there now, as 18-year-old 'Johnny' finishes his sophomore year at Indiana University, studying pre-law and preparing for a career in politics. He once told her that "you are the only mother I have ever known."

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT BOB ALTHAUSER AND JIM TERLIZZI NOMINATED FOR STATE CASA VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

Bob Althauser	Jim Terlizzi
Bob Althauser and Jim Terlizzi, two dedicated Monroe County CASAs, have been nominated for the Indiana State CASA Volunteer of the Year. Each of these men volunteer numerous hours each month to ensure that children involved in abuse and neglect cases receive the services necessary for a brighter future. Bob and Jim were recently retired when they joined CASA. Bob was a professor of sociology at IU and Jim was President and CEO of a company with over 400 employees. Both Bob and Jim brought their skills from their respective professional lives to their CASA work. Bob, in his work as a professor, helped young people in and out of the college classroom, which speaks to his understanding and compassion. Jim, as a businessman, held a number of leadership positions which required him to resolve employer-employee issues, to approach problem-solving objectively, and to make difficult decisions. In the past five years Dr. Bob Althauser has devoted over 500 volunteer hours advocating for the children involved in the cases on which he has served. The first case Bob served on involved a child born with drugs in his system. Bob was a keen observer of the child's developmental needs and pushed for extensive testing to be done. Because of the testing for which Bob advocated, the child's developmental disorder was discovered and, subsequently, was able to be treated. An additional issue with the case, which Bob helped to resolve, was the fact that the child was placed with family members who, unfortunately, did not have the financial resources to take care of him. Bob advocated through the court system for the family members to receive financial support for child related expenses. It took several meetings, emails and phone calls, but in the end Bob was successful in helping the family members receive the financial support necessary to provide a home for the child. Jim Terlizzi has been a volunteer with Monroe County CASA for six years and in that time has served on four cases and represented 11 children. His commitment to acting in the best interest of children has led Jim to volunteer over 450 hours of direct advocacy in his years with Monroe County CASA. Jim has been a CASA for the child in his current case for six years. This child has had six DCS case managers and five housing placements. One placement was a four-hour drive from Bloomington. Jim made that drive every six weeks for 14 months to visit her. The child involved in this case has had very little consistency in her short life, but her one constant is Jim. Nothing ever swayed or deterred either of these CASA volunteers from what they thought was right for the children they served. Executive Director of Monroe County CASA, Kristin Bishay, is "so thankful for all the people who volunteer their time to advocate for the best interests of children. It was with great pride that the staff nominated both these men for the outstanding work they have done for our most vulnerable citizens - the child victims of abuse and neglect".

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Monroe County CASA • 201 N. Morton Street • Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: (812) 333-2272 • Fax: (812) 333-7949 • E-mail: info@monroecountycasa.org

To report child abuse or neglect, please call the child abuse hotline at 1-800-800-5556

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Mary Beth O'Brien Nominated for State CASA of the Year

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

CASA Volunteer Lorraine Merriman Nominated for National Honors

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

BOB ALTHAUSER AND JIM TERLIZZI NOMINATED FOR STATE CASA VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR