Since August, the Cole County Courthouse has welcomed a new special advocate for children going through child protective services hearings.
Olive, a therapy dog given to the special advocates in Jefferson City, provides a sense of unconditional support to abused and neglected children in unstable homes who come to Judge Jon Beetem's courtroom.
Lisa Bax, a volunteer special advocate for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), saw having Olive as an opportunity to help the children who may become nervous or stressed when they come to court. CASA is a nonprofit victim's advocacy program for abused and neglected children who are going through juvenile court proceedings.
"Olive is present to offer unconditional support, to assist with anxiety, tension, stress or fear for these children who are facing such adversity and visiting the courtroom for the first or multiple times," Bax said.
Twice a month, Olive comes to Beetem's courtroom as a representative of CASA to greet children who are waiting for their case to be called.
Bax remembers one key instance when Olive really helped relieve a girl of her anxiety prior to her court case.
"She (Olive) was able to keep the young girl distracted as they sat waiting for her case to be called," Bax said. "During the hearing, Olive provided the sense of companionship that the young lady needed while listening to the variables of her case."
Dr. James Kellerman, executive director of CASA, is pleased with the addition of Olive to the team.
"Unconditional love," said Kellerman as he reminisced about a time when a little girl sat in Olive's dog bed and began petting her. "That's exactly what this pet will do - provide unconditional love."
Olive was a gift from Brandon McMillan, the host of "Lucky Dog," a television show on CBS. McMillan is an animal trainer who rescues dogs from animal shelters and helps prepare them to be adopted. Earlier this year, Bax reached out to McMillan, telling him how the children needed a dog like Olive.
Currently, CASA works with 150 children and has 65 special advocates assigned to the various cases. The organization trains people like Mary Finn, a special advocate of two years, to speak on behalf of children who are going through the court system. Volunteers are trained on how to write reports, interact in the courtroom, talk to the parents and be supportive of the children they're assigned.
"I try to tell the older kids that I work with that you are not defined by your experiences," Finn said. "Through no fault of their own, they are going through something very traumatic."
Finn said in two years she truly has seen firsthand the impact drug addiction, alcohol addiction and poverty have on children.
"Even after two years, it's still scary."
Kathy Farmer, president of CASA's board of directors, recognizes how unique CASA's services are.
"We're unique because our advocates have one or two cases assigned to them," Farmer said. "Other agencies have a multitude of cases, and they don't have time to commit."
CASA accepts volunteers from all walks of life.
"All we're looking for are people who are interested children," Kellerman said. "You don't have to be a teacher, an attorney or a nurse; you just have to care about kids. And we will teach about the rest of it."