FIELD WORK INTERVIEW 1

Field Work Interview: Alex Cardenas from Court Appointed Special Advocates

Giovanna Diaz

ECE 657

National University

May 28, 2024

Field Work and Experience

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As the current Chairman of the IID Board of Directors, Director Alex Cardenas

represents Division 1, which covers a large portion of El Centro, the area south and west of

Brawley, Westmorland, and the southwest fringe of the Salton Sea. In the June 2018 primary, he

was initially elected to the board, and in 2020, he held the position of vice president. In 2022, he

won reelection to the board. In addition to serving as its current president, Director Cardenas was

previously president of the Salton Sea Authority, a local advocacy organization serving Imperial

and Riverside Counties that aims to preserve human health and boost the environment and

economy of the Sea. In addition, he is a voting delegate for the Policy Makers Council of the

American Public Power Association, which is composed of forty elected officials from all

throughout the country who promote public power through legislative and regulatory priorities.

In addition, he was named to the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission and is a member of

the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. Director Cardenas was elected to the El

Centro City Council in 2013 and served as mayor in 2017 before beginning his IID service.

Director Cardenas, a native of El Centro, has been working with trained community volunteers at

the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Imperial County (CASA) since 2008 as the executive

director. In this role, he advocates for the welfare and health of foster children. Director

Cardenas holds a master's degree in organizational management and a bachelor's degree in public

administration. He also teaches adjunct courses at Columbia College and the University of

Phoenix. In addition, he serves as the University of Phoenix School of Business's lead faculty

area chair.

Mission and Vision of the Organization

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Through community volunteer training and advocacy, CASA of Imperial County works

to protect the best interests of abused and neglected children in Imperial County courts. Trained

community volunteers are used by CASA programs to testify in court on behalf of maltreated

and neglected children. As these children's cases proceed through the legal system, volunteers

monitor them to ensure they do not end up in foster care. Judges have the authority to designate a

dedicated volunteer to assist children who are placed in the foster care system due to unsafe

living conditions at home. A Court Appointed Special Advocate®, or CASA, is the term for that

volunteer. Judges choose and extensively train CASA volunteers to act as an advocate and

representative for a child's best interests inside the child protection system. Each CASA

volunteer is tasked with helping a single kid or group of siblings at a time, allowing them to

concentrate on providing the specific advocacy and care that each child or sibling group requires.

CASA volunteers assist children find secure, permanent homes as quickly as possible, saving

government money and the futures of the children. We look for chances, welcome difficulties,

and adjust to better serve the network through our work. To respond to the shifting circumstances

around us, we are prepared to modify the way we think and act. Continuing to be productive

even when unanticipated circumstances arise Using creativity and stepping outside of the box to

solve a problem making prompt and wise decisions in times of difficulty or emergency.

Interview with Alex Cardenas from CASA

Question: How has CASA impacted you to promote more services for this population?

Answer: I have been fortunate to specialize in a policy issue, early childhood, which mirrored

many of the experiences in my life with children. Yet I have loved working for CASA

organization that embraces the well-being of the whole child in the context of community health,

caregiver well-being, and physical and mental health. I can proudly look back on my career
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where my ideas or suggestions became laws or state budget items and will impact many others

for years to come. But I am proudest of the opportunities to change the narrative about why

lawmakers must act to improve policies for children. I am proud of how we could drive the focus

of statewide campaigns, hosting candidate forums and creating voter guides. for children's

concerns to be treated seriously. Working with partners to create a fresh perspective on how

childhood trauma affects mental health and how financial hardship affects it makes me proud.

And I am glad that Voices will keep driving the discussion to move the story forward beyond

acknowledging childhood trauma to encourage recovery.

Question: What is it that you like to do more in all the positions that you currently hold?

Answer: I am a continually active person and enjoy every minute of all the positions that I work

for here in the county. I am a person who sees the necessity in all Imperial Valley and looks for

opportunities to give more to the community. I do have to say that CASA has been one of the

most important roles since children are involved. Children who are not supported by their

parents, children who are on the system, children who are not having a normal childhood. My

heart just breaks when children are going through situations they are not supposed to. I feel it is

my responsibility to look after them and look for advocates that will always look after them. I

also have to say that I enjoy the happy moments when our job is well done, and our children are

accommodated with families that will love them and will support them when they are in need.

Having those moments of seeing them happy makes me remember my purpose in life and why I

am doing this.

Question: How do you support the mission of CASA?

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Answer: I support the mission of CASA by advocating for children by involving and promoting

their rights and well-being, often through policy changes. Therefore, actively attending town

meetings and ensuring that early childhood issues are discussed brings visibility to children's

needs and can lead to changes in policies that favor them.

Question: What is the process to be a volunteer at CASA?

Answer: Volunteering with CASA is a great way to assist children who are truly in need. It

means you will testify in court on behalf of a child in need. Together with social workers and

attorneys, you will make sure the child in the foster care system is safe. You will not be a foster

parent, but you will be the one to step up and make a real difference in a child's life when

necessary. If you are ready to speak up and be the STRONG VOICE for the abused and

neglected kids in your community, come on down to our next Blank Report Template with

CASA. Contact us at (760) 353-7456 with any inquiries.

Why Did I Choose CASA?

I chose CASA because I was a volunteer here in 2015. For my field experience in my

bachelor's program. I found out how much the need for volunteers was and how many children

need love and affection for them to feel secure and loved. Many children have suffered and we as

advocates have the responsibility to make their rights be heard. I also have to say that doing my

field experience here makes me realize my true passion which is being around children. I decided

to go for teaching instead of social services because I just think I do not have the character to see

how children are abused or neglected.

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Background Information

Judge David W. Soukup of Seattle's juvenile court was the motivation for the notion in

1976. Judge Soukup lacked the necessary facts to render a decision that would have changed the

life of a three-year-old girl who had been the victim of abuse. The concept originated from the

necessity for trained volunteers to advocate for these children's best interests in court since they

had been the victims of abuse or neglect.

Supporting Imperial Valley

Through community volunteerism and training, CASA of Imperial County represents the

best interests of abused and neglected children in Imperial County courts. Board members put a

lot of effort into helping abused children find safe homes here at CASA Imperial County.

Donating will enable you to support our work. We are incredibly grateful for any monetary

contributions.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model and CASA

According to the Bronfenbrenner theory, a child's microsystem is their smallest and

closest surroundings. As a result, the children's everyday environments at home, school or

daycare, their peer group, and their community make up the microsystem. In the microsystem,

interactions usually take place on a personal level with family, friends, teachers, and caretakers.

The way these individuals or groups engage with the kids will determine how they develop. In a

similar vein, children's responses to others inside their microsystem have an impact on how those

individuals handle other children. It seems that interactions and connections that are more kind

and encouraging will promote the children's improved growth. Among the most important

discoveries made by Urie Bronfenbrenner during his research on ecological systems is that
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siblings who discover themselves in the same natural system encounter radically dissimilar

surroundings. As a result, even though two siblings are living in the same microsystem, it is still

feasible for their growth to proceed in separate ways. The way a child is treated by others is

ultimately determined by his or her individual personality qualities, such as temperament, which

are impacted by certain genetic and biological factors. In CASA we find this ecological model in

our children affected by any kind of abuse in their home.

Conclusion

Even though our interview was brief and not too detailed because it was through a phone

call I enjoyed talking to Mr. Cardenas. I understand he is a busy man that has a lot of

responsibility on his shoulders. His time is limited, and I know h. Heave me the privilege to

interview him because he knows I was an advocate in the past and knowing that I keep on

educating myself is what he wants he once told me I had the capacity to reach every goal I put in

my mind. He mentioned during our interview that “children are the future of this world; children

must be well taken care of and not damaged until they think their life is pointless.” He has seen

many child cases and says he has cried because of the impotence of not being there to save them

from those episodes of their life where he knows children are not going to forget. We might not

have the superpower as ECE teachers to save all our children from bad situations in their

childhood, but we do have the power to support and help children that need affection and

attention.
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References

Bronfenbrenner U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American

Psychologist, 32, 513–531. 10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513

https://sensoryhealth.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/
STAR_Bronfenbrenner_Spielmann_Resource_Final.pdf

Cardenas. A. Personal Communication. May 27, 2024.

CASA of Imperial County. (n.d.). https://casaimperialcounty.org/

Staff - CASA of Imperial County. (2020, January 1). CASA of Imperial County.
http://casaic.org/casa/casa/about/staff/index.html