Today’s guest speaker, Elaine Underwood, Volunteer Recruiter for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) educated the club on the work that is done in Washington County on behalf of children in need.
CASA was specifically designed in the 1970s by a judge that wanted there to be an advocate for the wants and needs of children in the judicial system. Different from a child’s attorney that is obligated to advocate on behalf of the child’s rights by law, CASA volunteers advocate for what the child might want/need personally.
“When a child is in foster care, there is state statute that says that each child has an advocate, but it’s an unfunded mandate,” said Underwood.
That’s where the important work of the CASA volunteers comes into play. Each year new advocate volunteers go through 30-hours of training and make a 2-year commitment to see court cases and events in the life of a child through to a happy conclusion. Each advocate is given one case, which could mean one child, or a group of children, and follow them through the court process of settling into foster care.
The funding that CASA does receive helps to pay for paid supervisors for the CASA advocates. Training of new advocates occurs every few months.
“Being a CASA advocate is the most challenging, yet rewarding volunteer program you’ll ever be in,” said Underwood.
To become an advocate, or find out other ways to help CASA, contact Elaine Underwood at eunderwood@casahelpskids.org or by calling (503) 846 - 8309.
