April 1, 2026 • 11 mins
In this episode, we sit down with an important member of our community. Stephanie Sheler, Executive Director of CASA of Kent County, joins to explore the realities of the child welfare system right here in Kent County. We start by setting the stage—breaking down how foster care works locally, why the system is currently overwhelmed, and why this issue deserves the attention of our entire community. Then, we dive into the heart of the conversation: what CASA is, how trained volunteers advocate for children in the court system, and the powerful impact one person can make. If you’ve ever wondered how you can make a difference, this episode highlights a meaningful path—becoming a CASA volunteer. Learn what it takes, why it matters, and how you can step in when a child needs a voice the most.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, it is Mike with the Slightly Messy Podcast
UH and we basically the idea behind this podcast is
just to connect with people not only in the community,
but also uh you know, friends in radio, friends from
high school. As it may turn out, we have some
celebrity guests that come through and really just dive into things,
(00:20):
really just have a real conversation about things.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Usually we kind of roll into it with with with.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
An idea of what we're going to talk about, but
sometimes we we have special guests on to talk about
special things and today is one of those days. Stephanie
Sheeler is the executive director at CASA UH and I
want to say, first off, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Thank you. I'm excited to talk with you today.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Very excited to talk with you as well.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
And just a little background on this interview is a
friend of mine from high school. Angie was Mason. Now
is I don't even know her last name her I
read last name, but I'm just gonna say, what is it.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It's Angie Mason, Miranda, Miranda, that's it?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Because dust Yes, okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So anyways, she reached out and she said, you know
what we would love we would love to come on
your podcast. We'd love to chat with you guys and
kind of explain what we do here. And I did
a little research and had a chance to look at
what you guys do, and you guys do some amazing work.
So why don't you explain for the listeners what it
is that you guys do.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Okay? So the organization I work with is called KASA
of Kent County, and we do our work in Kent County.
There are KASA programs in other counties, but today I'll
talk about our work here. So basically, in the smallest
nutshell I can put it, we train, we recruit, train
and empower volunteers from the community to advocate for children
(01:50):
who experience abuse and neglect and I removed from their
homes and placed in foster care. So that's the nutshell
description of what we do.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Okay, And how did you What drove you to make
this a passion and to get into this. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
I started my career as a teacher, and I was
a teacher for fifteen years and then I transitioned into
social work. I felt like as a teacher, I was
supporting children in their families, and then in social work,
I was supporting children in their families. And I worked
in maybe three different positions before this one. I did
a lot of direct service with children and families where
I was in the community in homes and kind of
(02:28):
saw the challenges that families and children faced, and at
some point I decided to move into to leadership and
kind of lead organizations that were doing that work and
then to be fully transparent. One weekend, I saw this
job opening and thought, hmm, I would be passionate about
training community members because I really believe in volunteer work
(02:50):
and raising up volunteers to support children and families at
what is potentially the most traumatic time in their lives.
They're involved in the child welfare system and judicial system,
and I thought I could wrap my hat around being
passionate about that work and equipping regular, everyday community members
to do it.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
So explain.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
My mom was worked into social work for many, many,
many years, and so I didn't She didn't obviously fully
explain to me all the details because she knows confidential.
But how in our child welfare system would you say,
excuse me, how are explained?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Please?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
How our child welfare system is a little overwhelmed today
for some of those that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Might not know.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yeah, So I like to always begin kind of by
explaining how child welfare works. So we're costs of Kent
County because the child welfare system is county based, and
we have a family court that deals with child abuse
and neglect in our county. It's the seventeenth Circuit Court.
So when a child has been abuser neglected and it's
(03:54):
not safe for them to remain in their home, a
judge gives an order that those children need to be removed.
So it's the judge making that decision, and those children
become wards of the court and they go into foster care.
And when children are in foster care, there's a team
(04:15):
of people that surrounds them and their families. So they
are assigned a foster care worker. That person is the
social worker. The child and the parents are given attorneys
and they're they're assigned to a judge. But yes, right now,
our child welfare system is overwhelmed. It's not the fault
of the people in it. It's the fault of the system.
(04:36):
So caseworkers have a lot of cases. They are overworked
and underpaid and have a lot of responsibility. Court appointed
attorneys also have a lot of cases and are spread
very thin, and so into that system, sometimes judges and
other people on the case will say, we need another person,
We need another person, we need another set of eyes
(04:58):
and ears. Children need more support, this family needs more support.
And so somebody calls our office, often a judge, it
can be a foster care social worker, it can be
a foster parent who says, we want more help on
this case. And if a judge agrees, we take one
of our volunteers who's already been trained and is waiting
(05:20):
for a case. We match them with a case, and
that volunteer becomes a participant in that team serving that family.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
That's amazing. So we know what causes about. We understand
sort of what you guys do. What are the roles
of volunteers?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Yes, okay, So we are definitely a volunteer driven organization
and that's sort of my passion because I've worked in
other programs like that. So a lot of people are
familiar with big brothers Big sisters, where people from the
community come alongside a young person. It's like that, but different.
Our volunteers come alongside a child or sibling group, not
(05:59):
like a mentor, but like an advocate. So it's important
to know that KASA stands for court appointed special advocate,
and so these volunteers are appointed by the court. They're
sworn in as offices of the court, which gives them
the legal justification to be involved in this in with
(06:19):
the child and family. But what do they do. They
spend time with a child getting to know the situation.
They build a relationship with the foster parents to make
sure the child is in a good placement we call it.
They get to know what's going on at the school
and talk to the child's teacher. They might interact with
a child's therapist. And what that volunteer is doing we
(06:41):
call them kasas because they're court appointed special advocates. What
they're doing is gathering information about what's going on and
what's needed so they can report back to the judge.
It's important for your listeners to remember the judge is
the decision maker here, but the judge is relying on
information from others to make those decisions. So the judge
(07:04):
gets information from the foster care worker and the attorneys,
but when they're overwhelmed or spread thin, it's really helpful
to also have information from a court appointed special advocate.
Do I need to take a breath to you?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
No? No, no, this is very fast. No, this is fascinating.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
What I do want to say though, people who are
listening to this are starting to learn and understand what
this is all about. If they want to get involved,
what is the best thing they can do?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Okay, so I want to say that anyone, almost anyone
can do this work. Some people think they have to
be an attorney or a social worker or a teacher.
You don't. You could be any profession, any lived experience,
and be a cast a volunteer. But there are some
things you do need. You do need to care about
(07:53):
children and families. You do need to want to invest
in your community. You do have to be curious. Think
you have all the answers. So it's really about posture.
Then if someone's thinking, wow, this could be for me,
or or also this could be for my mom or
my brother or my neighbor, like, they would be good
(08:14):
at this. The best first stop is our website. It's
KASA Tentco dot org, so c A s A. Kent
and then Coofocounty dot org. That's the best place to
start because you can read all about what we do okay.
The other thing that you can do on our website
is you can click there's a how to get involved
(08:37):
tab and under that is events. We hold info sessions
for potential volunteers, So somebody who wants to learn more
could come to an info session. Those are virtual. We
hold mixers those are in person. Someone who wants to
learn more could come to a mixer.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Did I hear?
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Also?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Pardon no?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
No?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Also, we also offered coffee with KASA. If you want,
can I just talk to one of us one on one.
We'll meet you virtually for costs fee on our screen,
or we'll meet you at a coffee shop. And those
are the ways to jump in and learn more.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
It's amazing. And I hear you have an event coming
up on the twenty third, am I correct?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yes, So that is a unique event that happens once
a year. It's our annual luncheon. That's a great place
for people who want to learn more because we spend
an hour eating lunch together and showcasing the work of KASA.
So someone who comes to that event would get to
hear from a judicial person who's making decisions about children,
(09:36):
would get to hear from a current KASA volunteer and
also we get to hear from me about what this
work is all about. That event is accomplishing two things.
That event, we hope to raise additional volunteers and also
raise money for this work. So some people know that
they want to get involved as a volunteer. Other people
(09:59):
recognize this volunteer experience isn't for me, but I want
to support, so I'm going to donate. The other thing
we ask people to do is spread the words. If
you're listening today and you're learning about child welfare and
Kent County and you realize there are almost six hundred
kids in foster care and KASA was only able to
(10:19):
serve about one eighty last year, there's work to do,
there's room to grow, and we need people spreading the words.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Love that so much.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
You guys are doing some amazing things and if you
are interested once again, the website is KASA kentco dot org.
Stephanie Sheeler, she's the executive director for CASA of Kent County.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come
on and explain this to us. I'd love to have
you guys on again another time, and I know we
talked about getting in studio, like before you even we
(10:47):
even had this conversation.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I think we're some some wires cross here, but we'd
have to.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
We'd love to get you in the studio sometime and
we'll have you know, maybe have you come on and
we'll just have a normal we'll do like a regular
podcast where we can fit in some of the things
that you guys are doing as well. But I wanted
to get you on and explain what you guys do
because I really really think what you guys are doing
are some amazing things. But I think in the future
we'll have you come in and we'll just kind of
have you hang out, maybe bring some people with you,
(11:12):
and we'll have a longer podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
What do you think.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Thank you, that would be wonderful. Spreading the word to
our community is really important to doing this work, so
really appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Thank you so much. We'll talk soon. Okay, Thanks yea bye.
All right, it is Mike with the Slightly Messy Podcast
UH and we basically the idea behind this podcast is
just to connect with people not only in the community,
but also uh you know, friends in radio, friends from
high school. As it may turn out, we have some
celebrity guests that come through and really just dive into things,
(00:20):
really just have a real conversation about things.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Usually we kind of roll into it with with with.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
An idea of what we're going to talk about, but
sometimes we we have special guests on to talk about
special things and today is one of those days. Stephanie
Sheeler is the executive director at CASA UH and I
want to say, first off, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Thank you. I'm excited to talk with you today.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Very excited to talk with you as well.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
And just a little background on this interview is a
friend of mine from high school. Angie was Mason. Now
is I don't even know her last name her I
read last name, but I'm just gonna say, what is it.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It's Angie Mason, Miranda, Miranda, that's it?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Because dust Yes, okay, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
So anyways, she reached out and she said, you know
what we would love we would love to come on
your podcast. We'd love to chat with you guys and
kind of explain what we do here. And I did
a little research and had a chance to look at
what you guys do, and you guys do some amazing work.
So why don't you explain for the listeners what it
is that you guys do.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Okay? So the organization I work with is called KASA
of Kent County, and we do our work in Kent County.
There are KASA programs in other counties, but today I'll
talk about our work here. So basically, in the smallest
nutshell I can put it, we train, we recruit, train
and empower volunteers from the community to advocate for children
(01:50):
who experience abuse and neglect and I removed from their
homes and placed in foster care. So that's the nutshell
description of what we do.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Okay, And how did you What drove you to make
this a passion and to get into this. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
I started my career as a teacher, and I was
a teacher for fifteen years and then I transitioned into
social work. I felt like as a teacher, I was
supporting children in their families, and then in social work,
I was supporting children in their families. And I worked
in maybe three different positions before this one. I did
a lot of direct service with children and families where
I was in the community in homes and kind of
(02:28):
saw the challenges that families and children faced, and at
some point I decided to move into to leadership and
kind of lead organizations that were doing that work and
then to be fully transparent. One weekend, I saw this
job opening and thought, hmm, I would be passionate about
training community members because I really believe in volunteer work
(02:50):
and raising up volunteers to support children and families at
what is potentially the most traumatic time in their lives.
They're involved in the child welfare system and judicial system,
and I thought I could wrap my hat around being
passionate about that work and equipping regular, everyday community members
to do it.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
So explain.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
My mom was worked into social work for many, many,
many years, and so I didn't She didn't obviously fully
explain to me all the details because she knows confidential.
But how in our child welfare system would you say,
excuse me, how are explained?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Please?
Speaker 1 (03:28):
How our child welfare system is a little overwhelmed today
for some of those that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Might not know.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yeah, So I like to always begin kind of by
explaining how child welfare works. So we're costs of Kent
County because the child welfare system is county based, and
we have a family court that deals with child abuse
and neglect in our county. It's the seventeenth Circuit Court.
So when a child has been abuser neglected and it's
(03:54):
not safe for them to remain in their home, a
judge gives an order that those children need to be removed.
So it's the judge making that decision, and those children
become wards of the court and they go into foster care.
And when children are in foster care, there's a team
(04:15):
of people that surrounds them and their families. So they
are assigned a foster care worker. That person is the
social worker. The child and the parents are given attorneys
and they're they're assigned to a judge. But yes, right now,
our child welfare system is overwhelmed. It's not the fault
of the people in it. It's the fault of the system.
(04:36):
So caseworkers have a lot of cases. They are overworked
and underpaid and have a lot of responsibility. Court appointed
attorneys also have a lot of cases and are spread
very thin, and so into that system, sometimes judges and
other people on the case will say, we need another person,
We need another person, we need another set of eyes
(04:58):
and ears. Children need more support, this family needs more support.
And so somebody calls our office, often a judge, it
can be a foster care social worker, it can be
a foster parent who says, we want more help on
this case. And if a judge agrees, we take one
of our volunteers who's already been trained and is waiting
(05:20):
for a case. We match them with a case, and
that volunteer becomes a participant in that team serving that family.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
That's amazing. So we know what causes about. We understand
sort of what you guys do. What are the roles
of volunteers?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Yes, okay, So we are definitely a volunteer driven organization
and that's sort of my passion because I've worked in
other programs like that. So a lot of people are
familiar with big brothers Big sisters, where people from the
community come alongside a young person. It's like that, but different.
Our volunteers come alongside a child or sibling group, not
(05:59):
like a mentor, but like an advocate. So it's important
to know that KASA stands for court appointed special advocate,
and so these volunteers are appointed by the court. They're
sworn in as offices of the court, which gives them
the legal justification to be involved in this in with
(06:19):
the child and family. But what do they do. They
spend time with a child getting to know the situation.
They build a relationship with the foster parents to make
sure the child is in a good placement we call it.
They get to know what's going on at the school
and talk to the child's teacher. They might interact with
a child's therapist. And what that volunteer is doing we
(06:41):
call them kasas because they're court appointed special advocates. What
they're doing is gathering information about what's going on and
what's needed so they can report back to the judge.
It's important for your listeners to remember the judge is
the decision maker here, but the judge is relying on
information from others to make those decisions. So the judge
(07:04):
gets information from the foster care worker and the attorneys,
but when they're overwhelmed or spread thin, it's really helpful
to also have information from a court appointed special advocate.
Do I need to take a breath to you?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
No? No, no, this is very fast. No, this is fascinating.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
What I do want to say though, people who are
listening to this are starting to learn and understand what
this is all about. If they want to get involved,
what is the best thing they can do?
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Okay, so I want to say that anyone, almost anyone
can do this work. Some people think they have to
be an attorney or a social worker or a teacher.
You don't. You could be any profession, any lived experience,
and be a cast a volunteer. But there are some
things you do need. You do need to care about
(07:53):
children and families. You do need to want to invest
in your community. You do have to be curious. Think
you have all the answers. So it's really about posture.
Then if someone's thinking, wow, this could be for me,
or or also this could be for my mom or
my brother or my neighbor, like, they would be good
(08:14):
at this. The best first stop is our website. It's
KASA Tentco dot org, so c A s A. Kent
and then Coofocounty dot org. That's the best place to
start because you can read all about what we do okay.
The other thing that you can do on our website
is you can click there's a how to get involved
(08:37):
tab and under that is events. We hold info sessions
for potential volunteers, So somebody who wants to learn more
could come to an info session. Those are virtual. We
hold mixers those are in person. Someone who wants to
learn more could come to a mixer.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Did I hear?
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Also?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Pardon no?
Speaker 1 (08:55):
No?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Also, we also offered coffee with KASA. If you want,
can I just talk to one of us one on one.
We'll meet you virtually for costs fee on our screen,
or we'll meet you at a coffee shop. And those
are the ways to jump in and learn more.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
It's amazing. And I hear you have an event coming
up on the twenty third, am I correct?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yes, So that is a unique event that happens once
a year. It's our annual luncheon. That's a great place
for people who want to learn more because we spend
an hour eating lunch together and showcasing the work of KASA.
So someone who comes to that event would get to
hear from a judicial person who's making decisions about children,
(09:36):
would get to hear from a current KASA volunteer and
also we get to hear from me about what this
work is all about. That event is accomplishing two things.
That event, we hope to raise additional volunteers and also
raise money for this work. So some people know that
they want to get involved as a volunteer. Other people
(09:59):
recognize this volunteer experience isn't for me, but I want
to support, so I'm going to donate. The other thing
we ask people to do is spread the words. If
you're listening today and you're learning about child welfare and
Kent County and you realize there are almost six hundred
kids in foster care and KASA was only able to
(10:19):
serve about one eighty last year, there's work to do,
there's room to grow, and we need people spreading the words.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Love that so much.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
You guys are doing some amazing things and if you
are interested once again, the website is KASA kentco dot org.
Stephanie Sheeler, she's the executive director for CASA of Kent County.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come
on and explain this to us. I'd love to have
you guys on again another time, and I know we
talked about getting in studio, like before you even we
(10:47):
even had this conversation.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I think we're some some wires cross here, but we'd
have to.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
We'd love to get you in the studio sometime and
we'll have you know, maybe have you come on and
we'll just have a normal we'll do like a regular
podcast where we can fit in some of the things
that you guys are doing as well. But I wanted
to get you on and explain what you guys do
because I really really think what you guys are doing
are some amazing things. But I think in the future
we'll have you come in and we'll just kind of
have you hang out, maybe bring some people with you,
(11:12):
and we'll have a longer podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
What do you think.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
Thank you, that would be wonderful. Spreading the word to
our community is really important to doing this work, so
really appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Thank you so much. We'll talk soon. Okay, Thanks yea bye.
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