Judge Owens Wins Prestigious National Award for his Work with Child Advocacy

Ottumwa, IA – The Honorable William Owens, Associate Juvenile Judge: District 8 in Ottumwa, IA, has been named the 2022 Honorable David W. Soukup Judge of the Year by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Association for Children. The announcement was made during the organization’s Awards of Excellence ceremony at the National CASA/GAL’s 2022 Annual Conference held June 6 in Seattle, WA. 

CASA/GAL programs recruit, train and support volunteers who are appointed by judges to advocate in court for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. The National CASA/GAL Association’s Honorable David W. Soukup Judge of the Year Award honors the outstanding contributions of a judge who has advanced the best interests of children through support of the CASA/GAL model.

“Judge Owens is always willing to listen to the circumstances in each case and leads in the courtroom for what is best for the children under his watch,” said Cara Galloway. “He is a champion of the SE Iowa CASA program to all audiences and never overlooks the time, commitment and dedication of CASA volunteers.”

The Honorable William Owens, Associate Juvenile Judge: District 8 in Ottumwa, IA, is this year’s recipient. Ask anyone that has worked with Judge Owens, and the answer is always the same: “He is ‘top notch.’” A compassionate, understanding and innovative leader in the courtroom.

Judge Owens was appointed as an Associate Juvenile Judge in November 1998 after serving as Assistant Monroe County Attorney and Monroe County Attorney and being in private practice. He is co-chair of the Iowa Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Children’s Justice, a member of the State Council of the Iowa Supreme Court Commission for Children’s Justice and chair of the Juvenile Judge Committee of the Iowa Judges Association. In 2018 and 2022, Judge Owens was appointed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds to the Child Advocacy Board which oversees Iowa’s CASA and Foster Care Review Boards and was recently selected as its Chair. In the same year, he was appointed to National CASA/GAL’s Judicial Leadership Council. Judge Owens’ support of the CASA program extends beyond the courtroom. 

The Honorable David W. Soukup Judge of the Year Award is named for the founder of the CASA/GAL model.

Trainer's Corner:

Effective Communication is one of the most important skills a CASA Advocate or FCRB Board member can master.  Asking straightforward and solid information gathering type questions to listening to the verbalized and non-verbalized messages for meaning and context, to summarizing information for thorough recommendations, child welfare volunteers rely on their communication competencies to guide their work for considering the best interests of the children served.

In the Minnesota Child Welfare Practice Framework, communication is defined as “effectively sending and receiving verbal, electronic and written communication within the appropriate cultural context.” Trainings delve into the communication process so that skills can be practiced and honed to better equip ourselves for conveying and receiving information. But what about practicing skills under conditions of stress?  No would register for a training session to intentionally be put into a contrived stressful situation to practice good communication skills under distress. However, many times in the child welfare system, parents, the children and the paid and unpaid interested parties are experiencing stress.  Add to that reality, a pandemic world where nerves are frayed, relationships have been impacted, and life’s typical routines have been changed. We can easily assume that many of us are operating on a daily basis with an elevated stress response in our interactions with others: both personal and professional. The looming question becomes, “What do we do about it?”

First, we inherently understand that stress has the potential to impact communication and operate under the assumption that any party involved in the communication may be experiencing lack of clarity, confusion, brain fog, or a “deer in the headlight” syndrome from stress. People who are feeling stressed out may become easily frustrated or angry which can have a negative effect on your communication skills. A person in a heightened sense of emotion can have trouble choosing their words carefully or expressing things in an appropriate way. Challenges arise in articulating needs, concerns, or solutions when stressed. Stress can also cause a person to pull away from people. They may want to draw within themselves and isolate themselves which diminishes the number of opportunities to have conversations. When a person is feeling stressed it’s easy for them to misunderstand another person’s intentions or misunderstand the messages being shared.  

How Does Stress Impact Communication? Key Points from Dr. Vincent Covello, a behavioral, neuro and visual scientist, along with other’s research around communicating with people in high stress situations:

People want to know that you care before they care what you know. Caring is 50% of the basis for determining trust. Caring is judged in the first 30 seconds; once assessed, people are highly resistant to change. 75% of information about trust is communicated nonverbally.

People typically will not give you the benefit of the doubt regarding the meaning of non-verbal cues in high stress situations.

On average, people under low levels of stress can process an average of 7 messages at a time. Under high levels of stress however people can only process 3 messages, meaning you are more likely to miss vital information. 

The optimum length of key messages offered in a high stress situation is 27 words in 9 seconds, making the 3 key points.

Stress and mental noise can reduce the ability to process information by up to 80%.

Ordinarily people recall information in linear order (e.g. 1, 2, and 3) but under high levels of stress people recall what was most important or the very first or very last item said. 

People under stress typically understand information 4 grade levels below their education level.

When stressed areas of higher brain function shut down, meaning that the parts of our brain responsible for problem solving, lateral thinking and creative thinking effectively are shut off.

Technology has shortened communications response time from 24 hours to 6 minutes. 

The next step you can take is to have a “check in with yourself” moment before starting the conversation. Notice any symptoms such as muscle tightness, rapid or shallow breathing, feelings of anger or frustration, stomach aches, clenched fists, a flushed face or difficulty concentrating. If you are experiencing these symptoms, they can impact your ability to be fully present, unable to listen to what others are saying, or even more destructive, may escalate the conversation from the start and place the other person in a defensive mode.

Finally, take steps to improve your communication:

Combat the physical manifestation of stress by easing muscle tension by practicing progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) particularly focusing on relaxing your shoulders and jaw. 

Reduce shallow breathing by practicing deep controlled breathing, inhaling through the nose for 5 seconds, holding your breath for 5 seconds, exhaling through the mouth for five seconds, and waiting 5 seconds before taking your next breath.

Remove distractions from your immediate vicinity to concentrate on what is being said and on body language.

Actively listen to what is being said and refrain from planning on what you are going to say next. 

Use “I” statements rather than “You” statements and avoid the dreaded “Why” questions.

See things from the other side.  Make honest efforts to understand the other person’s perspective even if you do not agree with it.

Assume positive intent and check your interpretations.

Be specific, stay focused, say less and say it with tact.

And Most Importantly…Pick up the phone or better still, meet in person to communicate!! While email is convenient, it is often detrimental to communication. It is a great tool for one-time dissemination of information, but it quickly can turn problematic when email chains get long, people are left off the chain, or replies do not go out to all recipients resulting in splintered messages of concurrent threads.

For more resources and videos on communication competencies, consider the following: 

9 Effective Communication Skills

Taking the Stress Out of Stressful Conversations

Methods for Stress Management: The Process of Communication

VIDEO How to Have a Good Conversation- Celeste Headlee: TEDx

VIDEO How to Disagree Productively and Find Common Ground- Julie Dhar Tedtalk

VIDEO How to Stay Calm When You Know You Will Be Stressed- Daniel Levitin: TedTalk

VIDEO Is Civility a Sham? Teresa Bejan TedTalk

The 2022 ICAB Speaker Series

To support your continuous learning journey within our organization and your advocacy efforts as a CASA or FCRB volunteer, please consider requesting from your Local Coordinator the recording of a previous webinar offered as part of our speaker series.  Webinars available to watch and then complete the Advocate Application Worksheet to receive independent study in-service credit includes:  

Adoption in CINA Cases

A Judge’s Perspective on the Past, Present, and Future of Advocacy in Iowa

AMP: Achieving Maximum Potential; Giving Older Youth a Voice

Bridging the Gap

Inclusion Through a Different Lens

Kinship Navigator Program

The Parent Partner Program in Iowa

Understanding the Subsidized Guardianship Program

If you have questions, please contact the State Trainer at [email protected].

Click Here for more information.