BrownwoodNews – “Since 2013 the number of children removed in the 3-county area served by CASA in the Heart of Texas (Brown, Comanche, and Mills counties) has spiked higher each year, creating a big challenge in recruiting and training enough volunteers to keep up with the increases in the number of children in care,” says Joanne McCraw, recruiter/trainer for CASA in the Heart of Texas.
Executive director for CASA in the Heart of TexasMichelle Wells says “Court Appointed Special Advocates volunteer to get to know the child and provide a voice for them in court, standing by their side to make sure they do not have to face an overburdened system alone.” CASAs are adults from the community who volunteer to get to know a child or sibling group, and everyone involved in the children’s lives, in order to make fact-based recommendations to the court concerning their best interests.
These advocates, after background checks and interviews, go through extensive training and are sworn-in as officers of the court for these cases, then assigned a child or sibling group that they will work with. They are sometimes the only face a child recognizes as they are assigned new CPS caseworkers or moved from one placement to another. They provide a consistent adult presence during a tumultuous time. Every child should have and deserves to have their very own CASA volunteer. “Unfortunately,” stated McCraw, “we do not have enough volunteers, and many of the children in care do not have a CASA volunteer. The harsh reality of the moment is that we cannot take on any more cases until we have new advocates to take them.”
Due to circumstances that are no fault of their own, these children have been removed from their homes and placed in the child welfare system, many times far away from everyone they know and love. This holiday season, CASA in the Heart of Texas urges you to be mindful of all the children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted or reunited with their families.
“December is meant to be a festive time to spend with your family,” said Michelle Wells, executive director of CASA in the Heart of Texas. “Without the opportunity to share the holidays with the loved ones in their lives, children in foster care are deprived of precious memories that make the holiday season so special.”
According to The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), in 2017, more than 19,860 children were removed from their homes in Texas alone – 144 in Brown county. In 2013, the number of removals in Brown county was only 29. Those numbers amply illustrate why more volunteers are needed. CASA in the Heart of Texas is challenging more members of the community to become a part of the solution by becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer.
“We are putting out the call for at least 15 new volunteers to step up this month – by Christmas – to begin training in January and become active advocates by February,” proclaimed McCraw. That will not get us where we ultimately need to be, but it will certainly put us further down that road. Ultimately, it is our goal that every child entering care will have their own CASA.
During the holiday season, children are especially vulnerable and hopeful to permanently be a part of a family. Each year, more and more children enter the foster care system and don’t get the opportunity to spend the holiday season baking, opening presents and participating in other family traditions. “We need more members of the community to step up and get involved,” said McCraw. “Whether you become a CASA volunteer, a foster parent or provide support to a local foster family, you can make a difference this holiday season.”
There is an urgent need for volunteers to offer foster children a consistent person in their life that they can trust and rely on. Children are waiting.
CASA is holding a fundraiser raffle, that will be drawn on the 15th of this month. The winner will receive a Ruger Precision Rifle, model 18029, valued at almost $1,600.00 Tickets for the drawing are available for $20 a piece and can be purchased at the CASA offices in Brownwood.
Every child in foster care needs someone to support them through this difficult time. They need a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer to be by their side to help them move through the foster care system as quickly as possible, and into safe, permanent homes where they can spend the holidays creating happy memories.
CASA in the Heart of Texas served 112 children this year. Twenty-eight CASA volunteers spoke up for abused and neglected children in our community who, through no fault of their own, ended up in foster care.
Consider joining the movement and becoming a CASA volunteer. To learn more, call 325-643-2557 or visit www.casabrownwood.org. Applications can be completed online. The next information session is December 11, 2018, 6:00 PM at 901 Avenue B in the Community Connections of Central Texas building (formerly Family Services Center).
