USD President's Report 2003

JOHANNA HUNSAKER fac ulty, sc hoo l o f bu sin ess admi n istrati o n

But J ohann a Hunsaker ca res. Hunsaker. who volunteers as a court-appointed peciaJ advocate for children, had just finished a case in which she fo und adopti ve parents for three siblin i:,rs li ving in separate foster home ·. She was lookin g fo r her next case. The moment she read his file, she knew 9- year-old Danny was the one. "Dann y had absolutely nobody," says Hunsaker, who was assigned his case in 2001. " No relati ve wanted him, and nobody ever visited him once he became a ward o f the court. That's why I chose him ." Hunsa ker, who teaches organi zati onal behavior and women in management in the School of Business Adrninistrati on, became a court-appointed special advocate, or C ASA, in 1995. She wa · trained to w rite court reports, interact with j udges, navigate th e courts and wo rk with social workers, teachers, th erapists and doctors to advocate for the needs o f children in th e foster care system . At age 12, and with his special needs, Hunsa ker says th ere's litcl e hope o f adopti on fo r Da nny. He ' ll be in the system fo r another six years, but Hunsaker will be with him fo r the lo ng haul. 'Tm doing something positive fo r one kid, " Hunsaker says. " I know I ca n't change the system , but I can make a difference in his Li te and , right now, that's what matters most." The day Hunsaker met Dann y, th ey shared a pizza . Hi s tattered cloth es were filth y and di beveled, he wouldn 't ma ke eye contac t, and when he ate he shoveled fo od into his mouth - a sign, th ough his records didn 't reflect it, that he may have been underfed . Hunsaker's first o rder of business was to requ est S250 from cl1e state for new clocJ1 cs - a simple act. she says, that boosted his self-esteem . Next, alarmed by his lethargic demea nor and inad- vertent twitches, ~he requ ested his mental health be re- evaluated . Doctors fo und he was misdiagnosed with - and was reactin g to medi ca ti o n for - schizophrenia, when. in fact, Dann y showed no evidence o f a mental disorder.

Hunsaker, who came to USD in 198 1, says Oanny has littl e interest in what she docs fo r a living. He's never asked her where she works. doesn't ca re about the Ph .D. fo llowing her name and doesn 't realize th at durin g th eir visits she's using her expertise in human behavior and orga nization to subtly talk to him about social skiJJs anger management, consequences and goals in life . The lessons, th ough ·ubtle, have resulted in signifi cant changes. Hunsaker helped Dann y transition from a locked youth fac ili ty to a group home where he attends public school. Flashi ng a copy of his most recent report ca rd . she boasts he ea rn ed fo ur As and a B. Her short-term goal is to help Danny tra nsitio n fro m special edu ca tio n classes, where he was placed because he's emoti onall y immature, to mainstream classes before he starts high school in three yea rs. A lo nger-term goal, she says, is to ensure he graduates from hi gh ~chool - a milestone achi eved nati onwide by only 40 percent of ch.ildren in foster ca re. " He tru ts that I care," Hunsaker says, '·that I'm not going to hurt him , that l'll do what I say I'm going to do and that I'll always be here for him. " Hunsaker visits Danny every few week . O ften with camera in tow, she attends his sc ience fairs, checks in wiili his doctors, mo nitors his progress in school, and takes him hiking and to the beach where he enj oys playing with her dogs. " I noticed with all my case th at th ese kids had no pictures," Hunsaker says. ''Their histori es are just piles o f court documents, but nothing that shows th em what they used to look like or how mu ch th ey've grown. So with Darmy I always try to take pictures. ''It's a symbol of love," she adds. " [t hows him that I ca red enough to record these moments in history and reminds him th at he did have happy memories and that there were days that he smil ed."

Da1111 y'., 11n111v " '"·' d1t11 1~d lo protect !tis idmtity.