By Staff
CASSOPOLIS – Cass County CASA is seeking volunteers to speak out for abused and neglected children. CASA (court appointed special advocates) gives abused and neglected children a voice in court and an adult in their lives who knows and understands their needs during their time in foster care. The CASAs' goal is to find a safe, permanent home for children as quickly as possible. Applications for the volunteer training class scheduled to begin in early September are now being accepted.
CASA volunteers are appointed by the court as special advocates for children determined by the court to be children in need of services. Volunteers visit with the child, research the case that has brought the child to court, review documents and interview people in the child's life and make a report to the court as to what is in the child's best interest in terms of placement, services, reunification and permanency.
CASA volunteer training consists of 30 hours pre-service training, followed by a mentoring program and 12 hours of in-service training throughout the year. Volunteers learn about the court system, effective advocacy techniques for children and specific topics such as child sexual abuse to early childhood development. An initial screening is required of all prospective volunteers that are interviewed, screened and have a background and criminal records check.
Once the training is completed volunteers are sworn in as officers of the court. This gives CASA volunteers the authority to conduct research on the child to which the court has appointed them, to report to the court the needs of the child while in foster care, and to assist the court in deciding how to resolve their child's case. A different person, generally a case manager works with the child's parents to resolve their issues; the CASA volunteer's only concern is their child.
The volunteer monitors their child's situation while in foster care to be sure that the child is safe and that their physical, psychological and educational needs are being addressed. Sometimes all of the other adults in the child's case change – foster parents, case workers, even lawyers appointed to represent the child – but the CASA volunteer is always there. The Cass County program is one of the 83 percent of CASA programs that have been active for over a decade.
The Cass County CASA program was founded by Judge Susan Dobrich of the Cass Family Court in 1995 and trained its first class of volunteers in 1997. Today in Cass County there are 13 active CASA Volunteers, a full-time Director and the program is governed by a 15 member Board of Directors. CASA volunteers are currently serving 15 children. At any given time, Cass County has between 150 and 175 children in foster care.
Cass County CASA is accepting applications for its next training session scheduled to begin after Labor Day.
You can go the www.nationalcasa.org to learn more about CASA, or call (269) 445-4431or e-mail casscocasa@yahoo.com for more information.