2011 CASA Volunteers of the Year

Congratulations to our
2011 CASA Volunteers of the Year!

Photo taken by Jason Towlen, Home News Tribune
Judith Martin Waterman & Colette Scozzafava

Judith Martin Waterman
Judi has been with us since May 2010 and from the beginning, she has always been more than willing to go the extra mile with her cases. Not only has she tirelessly monitored two CASA children in out-of-county placements in opposite parts of the state, but she has also been our go-to person whenever we need a helping hand—talking to trainees, assisting with technical preparation of our brochures, wrapping gifts for the holiday drive, and serving as a CASA mentor. Judi’s first assignment was a teen who had been in foster care for five years, having endured numerous placements; the teen had grown increasingly angry over the years and physically aggressive, culminating in a detention sentence. In her first year on the case, Judi was this child’s one constant visitor, logging 249 hours, with 42 visits and more than 1,900 miles traveled. Judi later became CASA to the teen’s younger brother. With Judi’s encouragement to study hard and actively engage in his therapy, he is excelling in his new, more challenging high school and is making friends for the first time. Judi has a passion for getting "tough” children to express their hurt, and eventually their desires. She works—visit after visit—to make sure they are heard.

Colette Scozzafava

Since being sworn in on April 2011, Colette has been our most active CASA. Colette helped coordinate our 2011 holiday gift drive and has spent more than 100 hours on a survey project collecting data on our CASA program. She is also a CASA mentor. Colette worked her first case with three children until closure and immediately took another. In both cases, she has worked tirelessly to make sure she talked to everyone involved in the case, made every meeting she could, and visited her kids often. She listened and reported her findings to the court. Colette’s diligent work is having great impact. Law Guardian Alison Mayo said Colette "has single handedly changed the way the court views our client. In court we are all so focused on getting the legal issues resolved, that often the day-to-day lives that these children live become lost somehow. Colette reminds the court and all of us who this child really is and how her day-to-day life is affected by the choices the Judge makes for her. We made unprecedented progress at the last court hearing and I can honestly say we would not have gotten there if it had not been for Colette.”