A year and a half ago, Patti Roost went to work for three children she had never met.
A 4-month-old infant, his teenage mother and her 13-year-old brother had been raised in a fatherless home by a drug-addicted mother who was so paranoid she didn't allow her children to attend school.
"Pretty much for their whole lives, these children have been with no real home, mainly taking care of their mother," said Roost, a volunteer for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Ingham County.
The children were placed in foster care with a relative. Roost served as the children's advocate during their time in the court systems - during their search for a permanent home.
A court advocate handles cases of abuse and neglect. Roost's job involved interviewing everyone involved in the children's lives - therapists, doctors, teachers, case workers, family and friends - and then submitting a report to the court on how the child is adjusting.
"I went in there thinking this would be too much of a time commitment, but it is now a priority," Roost said. "I see how important it is for the children and how they count on me.
"I am one the few people in their lives that will be there when I say I will be there."
This year, for the first time, the Student Bar Association of MSU-Detroit College of Law will be holding the Barrister's Charity Ball.
Student bar members are trying to raise $20,000 for the volunteer organization which began when a Seattle judge realized he could not make educated decisions about abused and neglected children's lives.
The judge wanted to train community volunteers to speak in the best interests of children coming from many different and complicated situations.
Many have been sexually or physically abused, they have been raised in a drug house or they are not getting clothing or food, said Tari Muñiz, an executive director of the Ingham County chapter of CASA.
Advocates go through training in child development, child protection laws, racism and poverty issues and court functions.
"We're not big brothers and big sisters, we're advocates," Muñiz said. "We do what is best in the interest of the child after looking at every aspect of the child's life."
There are 900 children in foster care in Ingham County and 95 of them had CASA advocates in 2002, Muñiz said.
"A lot of people think you go into law so you can make all this money," student bar member Sarah Abraham said. "We are not here for the money, we are here to do some good too."
