Brownwood News – “Having just celebrated Father’s Day with my husband, my attention is turned to the children in the child welfare system who are not in the care of their fathers,” stated Joanne McCraw, Recruiter/Trainer for CASA in the Heart of Texas. Many of these children have suffered abuse and/or neglect at the hands of a father, stepfather, or other father-figure. These children are often left craving the attention of safe, compassionate men…men who would be protective and fight for them, who would lead them, who would spend time with them and demonstrate to them what a good man is. Men of CASA fight for kids. They help create a better system. They protect the vulnerable. Men of CASA make clarity out of chaos. They lead cases forward, and they show people what a good man is.
CASA in the Heart of Texas is seeking men who will rise to the mission of advocating for a child in the foster care/child protective system. Half the children in care are males, but currently in our program less than 5% of our volunteers are male. Who will these children look to for positive role models when their own father is not one? Too often the role models they find are the opposite of positive. All children need to experience the positive presence of safe men. Providing a role model for young people can be one of the most fulfilling parts of adulthood. This is a privilege and an honor—it doesn’t take anything special, except for the advocate working hard, being who he truly is, and connecting with the child from that place. A male CASA volunteer may represent something very scarce in the world of a child and thus carries a poignant responsibility.
If you think you may be interested in becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children and would like more information, please go to Become a CASA.org or brownwoodcasa.org for more information. Applications are online. The offices of CASA in the Heart of Texas are open from 9-5, Monday through Friday and can be reached by calling 325-643-2557. You may also contact McCraw at Joanne@casahot.org. “We will be starting another training class soon and need to know if you are interested as soon as possible,” stated McCraw.
Some men become advocates with their wives as part of a team. Each one has their own case, but they both support the other on the other’s case as well. Because men and women bring different perspectives, it gives added dimension to their work on both of their cases. “We have had two sets of couples as advocates during the time I’ve been with CASA,” stated McCraw, “One couple came because the husband wanted to volunteer, and his wife joined him. The other man came a few months after his wife began her work as a CASA.” And, of course, some men come to do this on their own.
The next CASA 101 Information Session in Brownwood will be Tuesday, July 2nd at 5:30 PM at the Community Connections of Central Texas building, 901 Avenue B, Brownwood. This meeting is open to any and all interested in learning more about the mission of CASA in the Heart of Texas. More advocates are desperately and urgently needed. Every child who has been removed from their home and all that is familiar needs and deserves an advocate on their case who has the ability to focus on only their case, learning all that can be learned about them and their unique situation to make best interest recommendations to the court. They need an advocate to be by their side, to make sure their voice is heard, to give them consistency and stability at a time when their world has been turned upside down.
Although it is summer, these children get no summer break from being in limbo in the system. Consider becoming involved as a protector of children by becoming a CASA now. Every child has a chance – it’s you.
