Published 10/22/18 By Robert Pore The Grand Island Independent

Susan Danehey — who says her dream is to “positively impact the next generation by changing the reality of children today” — is the new executive director at the Heartland CASA in Grand Island.Danehey, who is from Blue Hill, started in her position in September. “I have long enjoyed working with children and families,” she said.

She started and ran her own preschool in Blue Hill for 14 years, and later worked with Head Start and Early Head Start. Danehey then managed Healthy Beginnings, a nurse visitation parenting program in Hastings, for 11 years. Danehey sees the position at CASA as a natural progression in her efforts to work with children at risk.

“I am passionate about the health and safety of children and I looks forward to working with other community entities of the same mind set,” she said. “I believe strongly that when we build a strong and safe foundation for children we build a stronger and safer future for the entire community.”
 
Heartland CASA, founded in 1995, serves Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick counties. The group is a member of the National CASA Association and Nebraska CASA Association.

Its mission is to support abused and neglected children in the court system through recruiting and training informed, caring volunteers who speak for these children.

In 2017 Heartland CASA volunteers advocated on behalf of 61 children to ensure they received safe and permanent homes. These children left foster care an average of 4 1/2 months sooner than children without CASA volunteers, were less likely to re-enter foster care, and were more likely to be adopted.

“Children with a CASA have more stability and are moved fewer times while in foster care,” Danehey said. For every $1 spent on CASA, taxpayers save $23, she said. Danehey said CASA volunteers are everyday people who are making a difference in the lives of abused and neglected children through advocacy. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate, community volunteers use their voice to ensure our children are not voiceless during court cases involving child abuse and neglect. “They are a constant presence in the life of the child,” Danehey said. “They speak in court on behalf of the child.”

Danehey said CASA advocates get 30 hours of training before they begin to work with families, and then have 12 hours of continuing education per year. She said an advocate works with one or two cases at a time. They are appointed by judges.

Danehey has two sons, one daughter and a daughter-in-law. Beyond her love of children, she also has a passion for photography, writing and art. In her free time she teaches at her studio in Blue Hill, designs and manages escape rooms, and writes for the Hastings Tribune.

Danehey has served on several boards, including those with ASAAP (Area Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention) and Mary Lanning Healthcare.

Danehey said she hopes to have a chance to meet the community at Heartland CASA’s upcoming event, Design and Deserts Casablanca, which will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Balz Reception Hall. She said Design and Deserts is an event to showcase the work done by CASA volunteers and also allow those who attend have fun tasting great deserts and viewing impressive fashions.

“We also hope to find people that feel as passionate about keeping children safe as we do, that want to be part of the effort either through donations or through volunteering to work with us as advocates.”

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Far too many of the children CASA serves come from homes where they have experienced family violence. 

According to leading research, childhood domestic violence has a profound and lasting impact on a person’s life and hope for the future. Children from homes where domestic violence is/was prevalent are: 
• 6 times more likely to commit suicide 
• 50 times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol
• 74 times more likely to commit violent crimes against another
 
CASA observes the effects of this violence manifesting at different points in children’s lives. Infants may see major developmental delays, excessive separation anxiety and regressions in development like forgetting potty training or becoming non-verbal. School-age children can manifest the effects of violence differently, with depression, self-destruction, aggressive behavior and problems in school. Over time, as a mechanism for coping, they become more likely to rationalize violence and lose their ability to empathize with the needs of others. Teenagers often exhibit increased suicide risk, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders and risky sexual behavior.
 
The good news is that children can heal from the effects of witnessing domestic violence if they are nurtured and feel safe. Having a consistent, attentive adult helps children cope better and CASA is committed to helping facilitate this healing. Therapy can make all the difference to these child victims. 
 
Addressing this violence is important not simply for the children we serve but to prevent cycles of abuse from continuing. Children who witness abuse may grow up to become perpetrators or victims of domestic and sexual violence as they learn from their parents how they should behave. 
 
For CASA volunteers and others helping abused and neglected children, getting the best possible outcome means digging deeper than the circumstances that brought a child into the system. Whether it is violence that children experienced themselves or that they witnessed, it can have profound impacts on their wellbeing and on their future. CASA volunteers make sure that they know all traumas that a child has faced, so that they can effectively advocate for the right services to help them heal.