CASA of the South Plains (Court Appointed Special Advocates) today announced its participation in an ambitious campaign to recruit a volunteer for every foster child who needs one in Lubbock and throughout the state of Texas. Lubbock was selected as a pilot market due to the urgent need for volunteers in this community. The multi-touch recruitment campaign, “Every child has a chance – it’s you,” is rolling out across the state throughout the spring.
“CASA volunteers serve as voices for children in court, and other settings, to give them a chance at finding permanent and stable homes,” said Jennie Hill, executive director of CASA of the South Plains. “The effect CASA volunteers have on children’s lives during an uncertain time is significant. With 785 children in the South Plains in need of volunteers to advocate for their safety and future, there is a great opportunity for ordinary citizens to have a positive impact on children’s lives. We desperately need more volunteers to serve our most vulnerable children.”
A CASA volunteer is an everyday citizen who is screened and trained, and then appointed by a judge to represent a child’s best interests in court. When a child enters the system because his or her home is no longer safe, these committed volunteers guide foster children through the overburdened and complex child welfare system to ultimately reach a safe and permanent home.
“CASA volunteers often become one of the only consistent adults for these children, spending a significant amount of time getting to know each child and gaining his or her trust,” said Hill. “Volunteers gather information from everyone involved in the child’s daily life, including family members, foster parents, teachers, doctors and social workers.”
CASA volunteers use the information they gather to report to a judge, advocating for the child’s physical and emotional needs. They are not foster parents; they are highly trained community advocates acting as powerful voices for a child or sibling group. As a result, children with CASA volunteers often have more court-ordered services than those who do not have a volunteer.
CASA is a national volunteer movement with nearly 1,000 state and community-based programs that recruit, train and support citizen-volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms and communities. CASA of the South Plains is one of 72 local CASA programs included in the statewide Texas CASA network. Last year, CASA of the South Plains served 464 local children through the advocacy of 222 committed CASA volunteers in Cochran, Hale, Hockley, Lubbock, Terry and Yoakum Counties.
How to Help
To learn how you can help children in your community, visit www.casaofthesouthplains.org or call (806) 763-2272 for more information on volunteering. The next training class begins April 25th. Volunteers must be 21 years of age or older and willing to commit to at least one year of advocacy.
CASA of the South Plains also needs help spreading the word. Local spokespeople are available to speak to organizations, corporations or faith-based groups about how to become involved.
About CASA
CASA volunteers are everyday members of the community doing extraordinary work by choosing to speak up for abused and neglected children in their communities. They are screened and trained, then appointed by the court to advocate for the best interests of a child or sibling group in the foster care system. Often the CASA volunteer is the one constant in a child’s life while he or she goes through the overburdened system. CASA volunteers work to move the children through foster care and into safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible. Local CASA programs do the hands-on work of recruiting, training and supervising volunteers to speak up in court and represent the best interests of children.
(Press Release by CASA)
