Tag transphobia

My tiny voice

JT Twissel 30 Comments

For about four years I volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for the Juvenile Court Judges of Northern California. CASA candidates are rigorously screened and must complete at least forty hours of training (psychological, legal, sociological, medical and educational) before being sworn in. A CASA is required to:

  • Gain the confidence of the child assigned to them
  • Interview the child’s social worker, therapist, educational advisor, doctor, etc.
  • File a monthly report with the judge who was the child’s legal guardian
  • Attend all court sessions having to do with the child’s welfare as well as accompanying the child to a quarterly review of their case.
How foster children often view their court hearings and the judge.

CASAs are only assigned to at-risk foster children. During the years I spent as a CASA there weren’t nearly enough of us to make a dent in the demand.

Sean was in charge of all the CASA volunteers. Sean assigned available CASAs to children in need and made sure they had all the resources they needed. (There are all kinds of programs at a low cost or free to foster children as well as discount tickets to museums, theaters and parks.) Sean presented as a tall young man who wasn’t overly athletic but could probably outlast most people in an endurance contest. Sean’s sandy hair was cut short and Sean’s face was smooth with just a bit of baby fat. No stubble or five o’clock shadow. Sean always wore grey or tan slacks with a belt, cotton button down shirts (the type they used to sell at JC Penney’s) and brown hush puppies. Sean always reminded me of Donny Osmond. The young Donny Osmond.

Double Deers by Tres Miller

You can probably guess where this is heading. After I found out that Sean had been a Melinda and that her/his first CASA child had been a female ( female foster children could only be assigned to a female CASAs) I badly wanted to ask “Do you prefer to be called him or her? Or even them?” because I’d rather die than in any way hurt or insult such a wonderful young person. But that was almost twenty years ago and I was raised to mind my own business. We can’t go back to those days of being afraid to ask, folks. Reject all the transphobia going on … it’s sheer insanity.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. Judy Garland.