Tyson Zahner: Become an Advocate for Foster Children
Tyson Zahner is an attraction marketing mastermind and the creator of Attract 100 Leads in 30 Days. Zahner is a lifelong champion for raising awareness and support for the youth who are without a family and in foster care. Having been adopted and adopting his son, gives Tyson a great deal of empathy for the parentless children in our society. He launched his website, TysonZahner.co, earlier this year to answer adoption questions and provide resources to anyone interested in adoption or fostering. Below, he talks about the importance of becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate to assist foster children in their transitions, especially during National Adoption Awareness Month.
This National Adoption Awareness Month, Consider Becoming a CASA (a Court Appointed Special Advocate)
November is here, which means that it is National Adoption Month — a particularly special time for me and my family. The cause of adoption is very close to my heart. As a child I was adopted into a loving home. My sister was adopted, as well. As a child, I had many foster brothers and sisters. Years later, my wife and I adopted a beautiful, wonderful son of our own. These experiences are absolutely central to my life and my world. I want every child currently in the foster care system to share the same fortune I had. I want each to know the love of a true family. This is why I have used my public platform to tirelessly advocate on behalf of adoption, encouraging people to get involved, disseminating information, and communicating my personal experience as an adopted child.
We often think that helping the cause of adoption just means adopting a child or group of siblings. And this is definitely of the greatest importance. But if you can’t adopt a child and still want to help, please don’t be discouraged. Not everyone who wants to help the cause of adoption is in a circumstance that would allow them to adopt a child. The good news is that there are many other ways to help children currently in the foster care system.
What I want to highlight here is a very important way of helping: the possibility of becoming a CASA — a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer.
First, CASA volunteers are screened and undergo training. Then a judge appoints them to work with and advocate on behalf of one child or a group of siblings. The volunteer forges a close and trusting relationship with the child/children, becoming a positive light in their lives.
Why is this important? Entering the foster care system can be a traumatic experience for children. Imagine being uprooted from a familiar place and put in a place that is completely unfamiliar. Sometimes children are uprooted multiple times. Because of these experiences and other circumstances, children who enter into the foster care system are at greater risk of negative outcomes, such as addiction, homelessness, or prison.
CASA volunteers make a real difference in the lives of these children by getting to know them personally. They develop individual bonds. Volunteers get to know the close contacts in the lives of their appointed child — like foster family, biological family, teachers, and counsellors. They also come to know the emotional and physical needs of the child as they continue to strengthen the relationship they share. With such close knowledge of the child, CASA volunteers then advocate for the child in court, communicating the information they have gathered and their close knowledge of the child.
Imagine a child who might otherwise feel alone knowing that they have someone in their corner, someone who truly cares. In turn, the CASA volunteer knows that they possess the close personal knowledge to advocate on behalf of their child. They know that they are making a true and lasting difference. The bond is a real one.
During National Adoption Awareness Month, I encourage you to think about becoming a CASA volunteer. You can make a lasting difference in the life of a child.
-Tyson Zahner
To learn more about me and my efforts to raise both awareness and support for children in the foster care system, follow me on Medium or connect with me on LinkedIn.
