Court Appointed Advocacy
with Leah Noble
Behavior Bites Podcast - Ep38Apr 24, 2024Have you ever worked with a Court Appointed Special Advocate?
How often are you considering trauma during caregiver coaching, IEP meetings, and treatment protocols?
During today’s meal— I speak with a Court Appointed Special Advocate about the wins and challenges of the work she does, collaborating with large groups, and having the patience to navigate a slow system.
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Amuse-Bouche
How did you get connected with Pauline (Tolentino Pablo)?
Appetizers
How did you become a Court Appointed Special Advocate?
What are some of your wins and challenges in this role?
What’s something you wish you could have told yourself when getting started?
Palate Cleanser
What’s a must-try food in Los Angeles?
Entrees
If there were no barriers, what would be your dream project?
How do you educate others on what neglect and abuse looks like?
Dessert
What’s an “insult” you’ve received that you’re proud of?
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
Excerpts from the Episode
(*Paraphrased highlights)-
I wish I could have informed myself of the level of patience in this work. I’ve always been impatient and expect immediate results. NOTHING involving attorneys and court happens fast! I didn’t realize the amount of navigation and negotiation that would become some of the largest parts of what I do.
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An “insult” that I received was when the psychiatrist on my case complained to my supervisor about my questioning his treatment and medication management for my youth. My supervisor spoke with me to find out more information and came to the conclusion that the psychiatrist has a track record of being defensive whenever he was questioned. It was this “insult” that taught me to never be afraid or intimidated by a professional and no matter what, always question doubt.
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There are a few things. First and foremost is building a connection with a child and gaining their trust. These kids are unfortunately born into already traumatic situations. I’m here for them and will always use my voice to ensure theirs are heard.
Another thing I absolutely LOVE is collaborating with my team and smoothing out relationships between all the people (social workers, attorneys, medical professionals, educators, residential placements, foster or resource families, and bio families). I also truly enjoy being a part of reunifying families, and being a part of my youth’s wins is an amazing feeling.
My ultimate favorite part is being a volunteer. Having my volunteer status fuels me since I have nothing to lose when I have to get tough on the others on my case. I do what I do, not just in my CASA work, but in life in general to provide a safe space for kids to know that no matter what, they too have a voice and I will always, ALWAYS listen to their voices.
ABOUT Leah
Leah Noble, BA in Child Development w/ concentration in ECSE, MA in Teaching w/ specialization in ABA
Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA (specifically the San Fernando Valley). I was diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar Depression in high school and placed on medication. I was kicked out of my traditional high school for my behavior and ended up graduating from a continuation school. Started at a local Jr. College and transferred to California State University, Northridge and graduated with my bachelor’s degree with my ultimate goal of being an inclusion specialist. I began working on my teaching credential and a master’s degree just after, however I lost my motivation and decided to continue working as a 1:1 in LAUSD for kiddos in special education until I found out about ABA and the BCBA license. I then began my journey at National University where I completed my master’s and course and field work to sit for my exam. I’ve sat 3 times and then became a mom.
My husband and I struggled with fertility and after going through 2 IVF cycles and after miscarrying both pregnancies very early we gave up. About 7 months after my 2nd miscarriage, I had a chemical pregnancy which was yet again another miscarriage. After this, we both decided that we would research the criteria for a foster to adopt public adoption. In August of 2013, we finally were about to begin the process of adopting when I found out I was pregnant with my son. He was born in April 2014 and to our surprise, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, and I found out I was pregnant with my daughter in February 2015. She joined our family in October 2015.
Both my kids had significant expressive language delays and my life as a therapy mama began. Once both my kids were in preschool the opportunity to become a CASA or Court Appointed Special Advocate came available. This is something I had learned about in my undergraduate work and was on my bucket list for 18 years. I completed the training and was officially sworn in as an officer of children’s court in April 2019. I was appointed to my first case and was recently relieved as my youth’s CASA since his Non-Minor Dependency (NMD) case is closing upon his 21 st birthday. I was relieved before his case closed since I assumed the role of being his Power of Attorney which was obviously a conflict. While on his case, I had a short court appointment on another case which was a “dual status” case. This case was not just a dependency case, but also a juvenile justice case. On this case I continued to pull apart the layers of our systems. Our medical systems, educational systems, dependency systems, and the newest to me, the juvenile justice systems. I was both my cases educational rights holders.
As a CASA, my primary role is to be a stable, safe adult and advocate in court for them to ensure that their voices are heard. While on my juvenile justice case, I was going into juvenile hall and while in there, I noticed that the staff was not supportive of helping these very vulnerable, traumatized children and began questioning why there was ZERO trauma informed practices and ZERO behavior support services being provided and these were the two very much needed supports not just for the kiddos, but the staff as well. I’d mentioned my observations to my youth’s legal team of 5 attorney’s (it’s a CSEC case) Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Regional Center, Los Angeles County of Education (LACOE) and Department of Mental Health (DMH) and continued to be told that Department of Probation wouldn’t allow ABA due to liability purposes.
This obviously made NO SENSE to me considering their other volunteer-based organizations were allowed into the halls to provide alternative forms of therapy i.e. music, art etc. While I absolutely agree that these are necessary supports, they are definitely not going to provide that support that behavioral services would. So this began my journey on how to figure out how to get these supports in there for the children and staff.
CONNECT with Leah
Instagram: @kdn_epn- ADDITIONAL RESOURCESWebsite: casala.org- READINGS "The Deepest Well" by Nadine Burke Harris, M.D."The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk"Stranger Danger" by Charity Chandler-Cole- BEHAVIOR BITES PODCAST"Beyond Trauma-Informed Care" with dr. danyelle beal
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