Be the Change: Tina Wolfe

Tina Wolfe, advocate supervisor for Butte County’s CASA program, shepherds and supports CASA volunteers as they advocate for some of the most vulnerable children in the community.

In early 2017, as Tina Wolfe sat in the Butte County courthouse listening to the story of a seven-year-old boy’s life falling apart, she felt her own heart falling apart too. Little Matthew seemed to be floundering in the foster care system, buffeted by the bad decisions of adults in his life. Thankfully, Tina was positioned to do something about Matthew’s situation. She had just become a court appointed special advocate (CASA), sworn in before a county judge after six weeks of training. She eagerly accepted Matthew as her first CASA child, embarking on a life-changing journey.

CASA offers safe mentors for foster youth in the North State

Today, Tina is employed as the advocate supervisor for Butte County’s CASA program through Northern Valley Catholic Social Service (NVCSS). CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, is a national program designed to support some of the most vulnerable children—those in foster care. CASA pairs foster youth with caring volunteers who have the legal right and responsibility to advocate for their CASA kids in court, at school and at each home in which the child lives. CASA advocates remain involved until their CASA kids are reunified with their parents, adopted or age out of foster care. Tina took the initial CASA training as a way to support children after she and her husband, Paul, became empty-nesters. Now her work involves training new CASA volunteers and shepherding existing CASAs through the complexities of their children’s cases. She attends dependency court weekly, staying abreast of cases that currently have CASAs and cases that could most benefit from advocacy when new CASAs are available.

Tina Wolfe supports volunteers and foster youth with persistence and an open heart

Before accepting the advocate supervisor position, Tina had worked in corporate America for many years, including at a leadership and development company with Deme Jamson, whose son she had previously nannied. “My son called her ‘my Tina,’” Deme says fondly. Deme describes Tina as “talented, smart, creative, honest, straightforward, kind, a team player and a leader—an all-around beautiful person and an extraordinary professional. I consider myself very lucky to have worked with her and to call her friend.” When Tina decided to work for CASA, Deme knew it would be a perfect fit because Tina “can understand the legal system so quickly, she’s brilliant and she’s very passionate about kids.” Deme adds, “I think Tina was put on this planet to help people—especially kids.”

Lisa Michels, the advocate supervisor when Tina first became a CASA, recalls Tina engaging in the training with “an open heart” and jumping into advocacy with incredible persistence amid the flurry of placements, social workers and the unexpected twists and turns of foster care. “She does not let kids languish in the system,” Lisa says. “She’s strong, persistent and she has a huge heart. Sometimes as supervisors we have to do and say things that are hard, but she does all of it from her heart and I think that’s the most important thing.”

Foster advocacy does lay emotional weight on the heart. Tina recalls being able to put work aside when she worked in the business world but finds mentally separating from CASA work much more difficult. “The decisions we make affect the lives of children,” she says. “It is important we take it seriously.” At the same time, she recognizes her limits. “So much of this is out of our hands. I know that there might be a bigger plan that I’m not aware of. So I pray a lot!” She also makes time to refresh herself through walks with her husband and their two dogs, chats on the phone with her son, and crafting or decorating her home.

Rewarding CASA outcomes

In January 2023, in the same courtroom that had brought Matthew into her life, Tina cried tears of joy as he was officially adopted into a loving family. During Tina’s nearly five years as his CASA, Matthew moved five times, lived in four different cities, moved to five different schools and had over 50 people (such as foster parents, foster siblings, teachers and therapists) enter and exit his life. Tina remained a constant for Matthew; one person he could trust and lean on during the years of turbulence. “I’m very grateful to Matthew for allowing me to be in his life and be his friend and advocate,” Tina says. “I’ve had a couple of other cases over the years, including a sibling group of three sisters who were recently adopted and they have just been a joy in my life that I could never have imagined. Other than the birth of my own child, being at those two adoptions are the highlights of my life.”

Currently, Butte County has approximately 50 CASAs — each of whom work with only one child or one sibling at a time — and approximately 400 children in the foster system. Learn how you can make a difference in the lives of foster youth in your county by visiting  nationalcasagal.org.