Hometown Hero: The woman who brought CASA to New Hampshire [Concord Monitor]
David Brooks recently wrote a Hometown Hero profile on Marty Sink for the Concord Monitor. Below is an excerpt, followed by a link to the full article:
“Many people have helped a child or a few children in their lives. Marty Sink has helped thousands.
As the person who spearheaded the drive that brought Court Appointed Special Advocates to New Hampshire’s court system almost four decades ago and has run it since, Marcia Sink, known to everybody as Marty, has been instrumental in shaping the difficult task of balancing a child’s needs with their wants when things go south in their family.
Sink, who will be retiring July 1 from her role as president of CASA for New Hampshire, says she got interested in the subject of helping minor children in family court because of her experience as a foster parent.
Back then, whenever New Hampshire courts dealt with families, any minor children were represented by a state-provided guardian ad litum or GAL, a role roughly similar to a public defender. The GAL’s role was to look out for the minor’s best interests, even when they might conflict with what the parents wanted, often when drugs or mental health issues were involved.
Sink says the GAL system was overwhelmed.
The kids in my care never met or saw, nor did I ever hear from, a GAL who was going into court for them on a regular basis. I thought, ‘How can somebody do this? They haven’t spoken to me, I don’t even know who they are, yet they’re going into court making recommendations.’”
In her frustration she found out about the national CASA program, which began in Washington state in 1977 to train volunteers to act as advocates, and she brought it to New Hampshire in 1989.”
