Volunteer Spotlight: Katie Kramer

It was nineteen years ago that Court-Appointed Special Advocate Katie Kramer was assigned to her first case in Douglas County; the first of eight different cases where she supported a child or sibling group as they navigated the child welfare system.

Recalling her first case with a two-year-old child, Katie noted that she wasn’t used to working with younger children at the time. “I had worked more with middle school age, but I wanted to be a grandma at the time, so a two-year-old sounded good to me. And they needed someone.”

Kramer remembers all the children she was assigned, and recalls many details of the families she served ten and fifteen years ago. “Some of the cases were really short,” Kramer said. “But I met Jamie* when they were in fourth grade, and now they’re graduating from high school. Eight years.”

Kramer plans to “retire” from CASA work as her current case closes with Jamie aging out. “My hope is that they complete high school and we get some stabilization in there before they leave the system.”

A retired educator from Lawrence Public Schools, Kramer(formerly Mrs. Becker while teaching) was inspired to start volunteering after seeing an article about CASA, featuring Douglas County CASA’s originators Elaine Riordan and Hon. Jean Shepherd.

“I saw them, knew them in the community, and realized they were big supporters [of CASA]. I made a mental note to do that when I retired,” Kramer said.

Bringing her love of children to each of her cases, she has quite the list of memorable activities she developed. Driving to Wichita or Parsons at times to visit children when placed outside of Douglas County, she recalls making peanut butter pine cone birdfeeders and hanging them in the park, finishing sewing projects outside the public library because it closed, demonstrating how to make a spaghetti dinner at a local church kitchen, and using every day moments like flat tires to support learning life skills.

“Coming from the field of education, I felt that I had the skills to make a difference in the lives of children,” Kramer said.

The time with the kids, while not always easy, was the natural part of the work. The administrative and court skills came with time.

“I didn't realize all the detective work you had to do to figure out all the people involved in a case. By the second case, I knew to get things like the case manager and therapist’s info right away. And the court reports always required help, but everyone’s always been so good,” Kramer said, referring to her Volunteer Supervisors Carolyn Johnson (now retired) and Susan Anderson. “[The supervisors] are always in my court, doing whatever is needed to work it out for the kids.”

“Her case has been far from easy, but Katie has been right there for eight years. I hope Jamie knows how special that is,” Katie’s current supervisor Susan Anderson noted. “Katie has been a constant source of support in Jamie’s life. He includes Katie as one of the most important adult supports in his life.”

When asked what she wants others to know about CASA, Kramer said “Many people have told me that they didn’t feel adequate to be a CASA. Being a CASA volunteer is different than being a parent. Your job is to advocate for a child by getting to know all the components in that child’s life and figure out how to work with them to make the child’s life better so that they have another chance for a better childhood. Anyone with a passion for helping children should consider being a CASA."

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