Jen Franks

How to help

For more information, to donate or enroll to volunteer, visit achildsvoicewy.org 

Jen Franks, the former longtime owner of Little Learners preschool in Powell, didn’t know anything about the Court Appointed Special Advocates program when she was first approached about joining four years ago. 

She also didn’t hesitate to join up as a volunteer, having seen in her years as a teacher the struggles some of her students were going through. 

“I knew a lot of cases where kids were in foster care or just in a lot of trauma situations of abuse, neglect,” she said. “And I just knew the importance of somebody speaking for them and advocating for them … And I reflected back to a bunch of students I used to have and how nice that would have been, that they would have had somebody, you know, to advocate for them and actually explain their situation, what activities they were in, but also giving them resources to know what else is out there.”

CASA of the Fifth Judicial District is based in Cody and serves the entire Big Horn Basin. Staff and volunteers assist abused and neglected children of all ages. CASA supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy, with the aim that abused and neglected children in the Big Horn Basin can be safe, establish permanence, and have the opportunity to thrive.

Franks, who is now the preschool teacher for the Lovell school district, said her years as a teacher have helped in her role as a volunteer, as she knows how to connect with young children and how to find them a myriad of resources they could benefit from. 

Her work for CASA is all voluntary, and she generally only advocates for one child at a time (sometimes more if they’re in the same family). What she focuses on with each child is, in large part, simply being available. 

“I feel like being able to be a listener, but also becoming part of their lives, of knowing, understanding them on a more personal level, of what is going on in their home life and how I can support them, but also kind of branch that stuff with family. Maybe sometimes families don’t see what a child’s needing at that time … I can find out by just visiting with them and understanding their interests and everything.”

Franks said sometimes a child will get lost in the shuffle of a family in a rocky situation.

“There’s so much going on that they don’t see the simple things that make a difference in their lives and make them feel like they can be more confident in themselves, in their environment around them, and also kind of get them out of the box to be able to explore some things in their community,” she said. 

Around this time of year CASA volunteers also make sure the holiday season goes as well as can be for the children they advocate for. 

Franks said it’s often a “horrible” time for families in crisis, with concerns about not being able to provide the type of Christmas that would be expected. For one child who wanted a bike, Franks said she made certain that wish came true. 

Nonprofit organization Holiday Helpers lends a hand to provide gifts. 

“The biggest thing is being a listener, going and visiting and seeing all the support systems they have in place because, you know, depending on their age … what they are dealing with every day, what they’re transitioning into, and depending on the case, there’s different expectations from the judges, from the case worker, what’s the goals of the family, so that they can meet the goals with whatever’s in their case,” she said. 

Franks said for one young child she advocated for, the biggest way she could help was to find child care. 

“But also they needed resources,” she said. “Like Children’s Resource Center, giving them those resources, giving them different activities, like ideas for the mom to be interacting with other moms that have children the same age, whether it’s going to a church, whether it was going to the park, you know, finding different things that were meeting those child’s needs, but also helping with the parents going through that process.

“So, you know, it’s kind of working together, but also, as a CASA advocate, our primary target is our child, who we’re working for. But also we get a working relationship with the families so that we can help those things go through.”

Normally an advocate works with a child for 22 months, but Franks said it depends on the case. She said sometimes cases go on for years, or a case closes but another one opens up with the same family. 

“Hopefully, within 22 months, that child is in a safe environment that’s consistent, that’s going to help them grow,” Franks said.

As CASA advocates are volunteers, the organization relies in large part on donations to keep going. Franks said she hopes people understand just how important the program is to those children in crisis who need that support. 

“I hope everyone understands that CASA is here to help each child progress and become successful in their lives and be supported and feel safe in their communities,” she said. “And we work hard to make sure that we can do that every step of the way.”