Adopted Union County Local Uses Her Experience To Help Children In The Foster Care System

CRANFORD, NJ — Cranford local Emily Aschenbach’s passion to volunteer with CASA of Union County is rooted in her own personal adoption story.

Adopted from foster care when Aschenbach was a few months old, she is very familiar with the system. Her adoptive parents also have since adopted five other children out of the foster care system.

“My biological mom, her life is still not together,” Aschenbach said. “If I was still with her, I would not have this life at all. And honestly I felt like I was meant to.”

Now at age 23, Aschenbach is volunteering to help others going through the same process.

“I can relate better to them,” Aschenbach said of her experience and age. “You have two sets of parents and you learn there is no real mom here, it is whoever takes care of you.”

Aschenbach began volunteering over the summer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children. She finished training with CASA in April and has already been assigned a sibling group of three who range in age from 7 to 16.

“We advocate for the best interest of child regardless of what they want,” Aschenbach said.

Since 2005, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Union County has been recruiting, training, supervising and supporting community volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected and abandoned children removed from home and placed in foster homes or residential facilities. CASA volunteers provide consistency during chaos, compassion during confusion and work to ensure a youth’s best interests remain the priority while working toward establishing a safe, stable and permanent home for each child served.

There currently are nearly 600 Union County youth in foster care, ranging in age from birth to 21, in foster care through no fault of their own. CASA of Union County has just enough volunteers to serve about one-quarter of those children. Its goal is to provide an advocate for every child that needs one, according to CASA.

Volunteers are always needed and experience is not needed to help out. CASA will train you.

"Casa is always there to guide you through all the steps and won't leave you hanging," Aschenbach said.

Aschenbach volunteers while bartending and going to school. She graduated from Union County College and is now taking 18 credits at Pace University.

Her experience with CASA has already changed her life plans.

“I am going to school for psychology and right now planning on going to law school after,” Aschenbach said. “Originally I wanted to be criminal defense attorney, but now I want to study child advocacy law.”

To learn more about CASA or to become a volunteer check out one of the upcoming information sessions on Tuesday, Sept. 6 and Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the County Clerk’s Building in Westfield; morning sessions are 10 a.m.Sept. 9 and Sept. 23 at CASA’s offices, 1143-45 East Jersey Street in Elizabeth.

Contact Lisa at (908) 527-7048 or lporis@casaofunioncounty.org for details or to RSVP for an information session.

(Photo via Emily Achenbach)

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