Missoula District Court Judge Halligan named to CASA Judicial Leadership Council

SEATTLE — Missoula District Court Judge Leslie Halligan has been appointed to serve the National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association as a member of the newly formed Judicial Leadership Council.

The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, together with its state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every abused or neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home and the opportunity to thrive.

Court systems throughout the United States provide judicial oversight for cases involving abused and neglected children, especially if a child is removed from their home or at risk for removal. In most States, if a case requires court involvement, it will come before either a juvenile or a family court.

The purpose of the Judicial Leadership Council is to strengthen and develop ongoing relationships; provide input and recommendations to National CASA on ways to engage the judiciary; bring the judicial officers’ voice to National CASA’s work on developing a network wide growth process and strategy; and assist in the design and development of a new Judicial Involvement Initiative.

“Through strong partnerships and collaborative strategies, together we will strengthen the foundation of the CASA/GAL member network, create pathways for sustainable organizational growth, and generate better outcomes for the abused and neglected children served in the communities we serve,” said Tara Perry, Chief Executive Officer of National CASA Association.

“This engagement with such a wonderful group of judges is a tremendous asset to National CASA and the children served across the country, “ said Perry. “We are very appreciative and excited to have this level of judicial commitment and expertise serving on this leadership council.”

Halligan, 4th Judicial District Judge, in Missoula, was appointed to the National CASA Association Judicial Leadership Council. Along with 12 other judicial colleagues from across the county, Judge Halligan will be sharing her expertise and guidance in engaging judicial leaders to help address child welfare and court systems’ challenges as well as external factors. A strong emphasis will be placed on the leadership council’s guidance around strengthening judicial support at a national, state, and local level.

“As a member of the Judicial Leadership Council, I would bring more than 15 years of experience in the prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases, experience as a foster parent, experience as an adjunct professor teaching child advocacy law and experience as a general jurisdiction judge in a rather rural area, Western Montana, to help inform and develop programs that seek to advance and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy,” Halligan said.

“I understand the distress that is often experienced by courts when faced with the complex and emotional cases that involved abused children. While decisions may be difficult, the opportunity to involve a court-appointed volunteer advocate results in greater support for the children as they experience the trauma involved in the cases, greater insight in to the dynamics of the family that may have contributed to the allegations of harm, and valuable information upon which a court may rely to achieve a more effective resolution.”

Judge Halligan said, “I am proud of the work of our local CASA program, I have worked to both educate and support local CASA volunteers and understand the ever-growing need to involve court-appointed volunteers to be a voice for children.”

CASA of Missoula’s Executive Director Charity Stubb said, “The support from each of our 4th Judicial District judges is instrumental in the lives of abused and neglected children as well the success of our local program. Their work on behalf of children and families is influential to the community and sets a precedent that every child’s voice should be heard when it comes to child abuse and neglect cases.

“In nominating Judge Leslie Halligan to serve on National CASA’s Judicial Leadership Council, we know that she will continue to share her expertise and passion for helping children and families to further strengthen our community and others across the United States.”

National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association is a network of almost 1,000 programs that recruit, train and support citizen-volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms and communities.