Beck Finds Frustration and Rewards with CAJA

Susan Beck doesn’t strike people as the aggressive sort who packs a trigger-finger tongue ready to fire off heated opinions and beliefs like an aggressive attorney in the heat of a spirited hearing.

So it might seem incongruous that she is, indeed, a presence in the courtroom, a voice for those who otherwise would have no voice in the machinery of justice.

This article originally appeared in the Arab Tribune, December 31, 2012

But she is. Beck is a CAJA – a volunteer with Court Appointed Juvenile Advocates of Marshall County.

Those she advocates for are children who, by no fault of their own, end up in court with their custody – their very future – on the line.

The problem is, Marshall County has hundreds of children in these sad and critical positions for which CAJA has no one to help.

Volunteers are desperately needed.

And, Beck contends, if she can do it, so can most anyone else.

“Absolutely,” says the Union Grove woman. “All you need to have is an interest in children and their well-being.”

 And you won’t be there in court alone. You’ll have help from the agency’s staff, its director, Dr. Raymona Bevel and your CAJA partner.

“It won’t be as hard as you think,” Beck starts to say, then catches herself. “Well, it will be hard, but you will have support. That makes all the difference.”

She should know. This February she’ll become a 15-year CAJA veteran.