Small Acts of Advocacy
Joe Farrell Receives 2024 Darlene Kamine Advocate of the Year Award
5 years | 7 kids | 5 families
Since becoming a CASA Volunteer in 2019, Joe Farrell’s advocacy has been focused primarily on custody cases. These are cases with child protection issues filed by relatives or family friends, rather than the county.
According to Charlotte Caples, his CASA Manager, Joe is an advocate unafraid to ask questions, who’s professional and kind. And having served as a volunteer mediator in the past, he is someone who communicates with precision and compassion.
“I’d like to think that (my experience) helped,” Joe said. “I guess with any relationship, but even more so as you’re trying to get to know parents or guardians, and you’re trying to build trust, it’s important that you make them feel safe and respected and heard.”
He described his role in these terms: as a cog in the wheel of helping kids be safe. “I feel like I’m making some small contribution to supporting kids that need help.”
When Charlotte came to Joe with a new and different challenge — his first case advocating for a child in foster care, rather than with a relative — he was eager to fill a gap by serving 17-year-old “Kyle.” And this, his current case, has certainly been a departure.
Kyle’s is a complex case, with his cognitive, medical, and behavioral challenges constantly being addressed by a dedicated team. In fact, Joe is one of several folks engaged to meet Kyle’s needs: from a hospital care team and disability services, to Job and Family Services, ProKids, and many more providers. According to Joe, there have been hundreds of communications exchanged among this team, which is working toward stability and permanency for Kyle.
With his mom in a nursing home, and Kyle moving to and from several foster homes, this teen boy has been dysregulated from the moment he entered the system.
“She was his rock for 17 years,” Joe said of his mom, and he still needs her. So, the team is attempting to find that happy place, where he can have a connection with his mom but can begin to bridge toward becoming an adult.
A primary concern for Joe is Kyle’s comfort. With a new school year now in motion, Joe is hoping that Kyle, who enjoys school, enjoys learning, and is a savant when it comes to computers, can better regulate his emotions and behaviors.
Despite the challenges, Joe has done a great deal to assist in that area, like after Kyle threw and broke his tablet in a moment of overwhelm, going without one until Joe advocated for a replacement. Recognizing the device was essential not just for communication but as a tool for Kyle to calm himself, Joe spurred the purchase of a new iPad with a “very strong case” and a “long Apple care plan.”
In times when progress feels slow, simple actions like these better the lives of our kids in countless and creative ways. We’re proud to acknowledge Joe’s work for this and so many more reasons.