Volunteers Wanted to Advocate for Abused and Neglected Children

COURT HOUSE — CASA for Children of Atlantic and Cape May Counties is recruiting volunteers to be court advocates for children living in foster care. CASA currently has over 500 children waiting for an advocate that will help ensure they receive the best care while living in the child welfare system. Individuals interested in learning more about volunteering should call (609) 601-7800, email Julie@AtlanticCapeCASA.org or visit www.AtlanticCapeCASA.org.
“Currently, CASA has the volunteer capacity to serve about 48 percent of the 1,049 children living in foster care in Atlantic and Cape May Counties. Additional volunteers are needed to provide an advocate to all children who need one,” said CASA Director of Community Development Karen DeRosa. “Volunteers do not need any special skills and training is provided. Being a CASA volunteer is a great way to change the course of a child’s life right here in our community.” CASA is now accepting volunteer applications for a training class that begins in April.
Trained CASA Volunteers advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system and are dedicated to ensuring these children are placed in safe permanent homes as quickly as possible. CASA is central to fulfilling society’s most fundamental obligation by assigning a qualified, compassionate adult who will fight for and protect a child’s right to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect and to learn and grow in the safe embrace of a loving family. For more information about CASA, visit www.AtlanticCapeCASA.org.
About CASA of Atlantic and Cape May Counties:
Trained CASA Volunteers speak in family court on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system and are dedicated to ensuring these children are placed in safe permanent homes as quickly as possible. In Atlantic and Cape May Counties, over 1,000 children are placed in foster care annually. Last fiscal year, CASA served 475 abused and neglected children with nearly 200 CASA Volunteers and helped place 128 children in permanent homes. For more information about CASA visit www.AtlanticCapeCASA.org. CASA is a United Way Partner Agency.
About National CASA:
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children is a network of 946 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. The only program of its kind, CASA volunteers are empowered by the courts to provide children with one-on-one advocacy. CASA volunteers see their assigned children regularly and interview all the adults who impact their lives. Volunteer advocates offer judges the critical information they need to ensure each child’s rights and needs are being attended to while in foster care, staying with the child until she is placed in a loving permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer is the only constant adult presence in their lives. (www.casaforchildren.org)