Love in Action: Dan and Carole Meyer

This Valentine’s Day, we are highlighting a love built on partnership, commitment, and showing up together when it matters. After 39 years of marriage, Dan and Carole Meyer have brought that same sense of teamwork into their roles as Co-CASA volunteers, advocating side by side for children in foster care.

Before moving to St. Louis, Dan and Carole lived in Texas, where they supported a family fostering children and took classes to become respite caregivers in order to watch the children overnight. Carole moved to St. Louis in 2021 and Dan followed in 2022 during the COVID pandemic so they could be closer to one of their daughters after the birth of their grandchild. They later learned more about CASA through a presentation at their church, which helped them see how they could make a difference at this stage of their lives.

Dan and Carole were sworn in as CASAs in February 2025 and are currently serving on their first case, a sibling group of three girls ages 3, 4, and 6. After an unsuccessful kinship placement, the girls have been in a foster home for almost a year. Dan and Carole have focused part of their advocacy on making sure the girls receive therapeutic support. When the children entered care, none had received therapy. Now, the two older girls are in play therapy, and the youngest will soon receive a trauma assessment.

They decided to become CASAs together because shared responsibility made sense for them. “It was an opportunity to do something as a team and work together a little bit,” Dan shared. They take turns writing court and visit reports and support one another through the harder parts of the work. When asked what they would say to anyone considering becoming Co-CASAs, Dan encourages them to go for it and points to CASA training as an important way to set expectations. Carole adds, “Some things we see and hear in reports are hard, so by doing it as a team, we can process that information together.”

Their 39-year partnership now carries into their advocacy, as Dan and Carole continue showing up together for children who need consistency, care, and someone willing to stand beside them. Lea, their Case Advocacy Supervisor, shared, “Your dedication and teamwork in advocating for the girls is very impactful. Thank you for showing up, standing strong, and being such powerful voices. You guys are truly a dynamic duo!”