Bob Brown joined CASA of Yellowstone County as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate in 2017 after learning of the urgent need for more volunteers to advocate on behalf of at-risk children in the foster care system. Thus far, he has limited his CASA advocacy to very young children. Bob currently has two separate cases, one with a three-year-old boy in kinship care (placed with family members), and another case with a newborn infant in foster care.
Bob grew up in Billings and graduated from Billings Central Catholic High School. After serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, he went to college and earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Montana. Thereafter, Bob spent his career in a number of areas, including public accounting (KPMG), oil and gas exploration, and the Coca-Cola bottling business in both Montana and California. After 16 years as CFO of Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Bob retired and returned to Billings in 2014.
In addition to serving as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate, Bob is involved in a number of other volunteer activities in the Billings community, including serving on the boards of directors of the Billings Catholic Schools Foundation and LaVie. He also as sings in his church and cuddles babies in the St. Vincent NICU. Bob has been married to his wife, Mary, for nearly 44 years. Together they have three grown children and one granddaughter.
Bob shared that CASA is one of the most rewarding volunteer activities he has been involved with, knowing that he is making a real difference in the lives of children. With frequent turnover of court and foster care personnel and foster placements, the volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate often is the only “constant” in the child’s life—the one person the child can count on to be there through all the upheaval.
In Bob’s experience, child protective services workers and guardians ad litem carry massive caseloads and often do not have the time or resources to adequately shepherd cases through the system. As a result, sometimes things fall through the cracks. One of the most important roles a CASA can play is to be vigilant as to upcoming hearings and other deadlines and put a bug in the ear of the appropriate parties to remind them of actions that need to be taken. Without that gentle nudging, these cases can end up stretching on for years, which only delays the permanent resolution for each child.
When asked about any advice Bob would have for someone considering becoming a CASA, Bob said, “Just do it! You won’t regret it.”
