Signe Hamman knows that every child deserves to feel safe.

Hamman is president of the board of directors for CASA Kendall County. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate, a nonprofit volunteer organization that works to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children within the juvenile court system.

Before becoming board president in February 2025, she had volunteered as an advocate for the group for several years.

“We are there to support the organization and help them be as effective in helping these children as they can possibly be,” Hamman said.

Everyone on the board also is a volunteer.

“I retired early, and I thought this was my time to help someone else,” Hamman said. “We advocate for kids in foster care. We advocate for kids who have experienced abuse or neglect.”

May is Foster Parent Appreciation Month.

To become an advocate, a person goes through 40 hours of training. Their advocates come from a variety of backgrounds.

“We have people who are retired, and we have people who are still working,” she said. “I was in training with a woman who was becoming an advocate, and she had eight children of her own.”

When an advocate is assigned to each case, Hamman said, “they stay with the case from beginning to end. We have to make a written report to the judge at every hearing as to what we think is in the best interest. We look out for the child, regardless of anything else.”

CASA Kendall County is handling 97 cases in spring 2026. When Hamman started with the group, it was handling between 30 and 40 cases.

“I think last year we served about 200 children,” she said.

CASA Kendall County is a guardian ad litem program.

“It’s a legal representation for a child in legal cases,” Hamman said. “Like in a divorce, if the parents don’t agree on visitation or whether the child should go to this school or that school. The court appoints a guardian ad litem, and they are a legal representation for that child. Not all CASA organizations are GALs, but we are. If we weren’t volunteering, the county would have to hire an attorney to serve as the guardian ad litem for these kids, like they do in civil court.”

Hamman also lends a helping hand in other ways. She delivers meals as part of the Meals on Wheels program, which also provides wellness checks on older adults and individuals with disabilities.

She delivers out of the Beecher Community Center in Yorkville.

Before becoming a CASA advocate, Hamman was involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Those involved in the program act as mentors to youths.

Hamman said she is happy that organizations like CASA Kendall County can provide help.

“These kids, they go through so much,” she said. “I’m proud that we can be there for these kids and be that consistency for them and try to help give them a loving, secure home.”

However, she said the group needs more volunteers. For information, visit the CASA Kendall County website at casakendallcounty.org.