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A Woman Of Action— After seven seasons doling out judgments, wisdom, and inspiration on the nationally syndicated television show “Judge Hatchett,” The Honorable Glenda Hatchett might just be doing her most important work outside of the courtroom. She is the national spokesperson for CASA (court appointed special advocate), a cause she wholeheartedly believes in. CASA volunteers provide a system safeguard and a continuous advocate for the children they are assigned. “The system is overloaded. There are more children than social workers, so it hard for them to track the progress of each child. CASA volunteers fill the void,” says Hatchett, who didn’t actually become a judge until 1990. Prior to that, she was a rising corporate star working for Delta Airlines, having been named one of the “100 Best & Brightest Women in Corporate America” by Ebony Magazine. “I never really expected to be a lawyer. I went to law school to expand my options, and while I was there, I discovered a passion for litigation. After my clerkship, I started litigating at Delta, and I truly believed I would remain there for the balance of my career. I couldn’t have been more wrong,” remembers Hatchett, who graduated from Emory University School of Law. When she finally took the bench, she continued on the fast track. She became Georgia’s first African-American chief presiding judge of a state court and was recognized by the National Bar Association as Outstanding Jurist of the Year, among other accolades. As a children’s advocate, she helped found the Truancy Intervention Project, which provides early, positive intervention with children reported as truants. “We are there for these youth. We can change their lives for the positive,” says Hatchett, author of Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say (Harper Collins, 2003). Why so strong support for CASA? Judge Hatchett likes to tell the story of a family torn apart by the child welfare system but reunited by a CASA volunteer. “There was a grandmother her in Atlanta who was taking care of her grandchildren but it became a financial strain and she lost her home,” says Hatchett. “They had to move into a shelter. While in the shelter, she decided she needed to get help from some family members in a small town in another state. So she left the kids in the shelter, with every intention of returning for her grandkids. While she was gone, the system kicked in and by the time she returned, they were both placed in two separate foster homes. A CASA volunteer found out and started to track down the grandmother. The kids were too young to give him much information, but he had enough that he could piece together the town the grandmother went to. So every chance he could, he’d drive to this town and walk the streets asking locals. Eventually he found her but when the grandmother returned she couldn’t get the children back because she didn’t have legal custody. With the help of the CASA volunteer, they found another relative who was financially able to adopt the kids. If it were not for the volunteer, that family would still be divided. This is what CASA volunteers do, and why they are needed.” Besides the tear jerking story, for Hatchett it is a numbers game she’s trying to win. “There are more than 500,000 abused and neglected children in the child welfare system, yet only 50,000 CASA volunteers,” says Hatchett. “We’re trying to get this program the attention it needs and encourage as many people we can to volunteer.” Copyright © 2007 Ann Brown
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