ROCKWALL,TX. (March 9, 2015) As part of March’s National Social Work Month celebration, Lone Star CASA recognizes and thanks those who devote their lives to bettering the lives of others. Social workers strive to build a stronger community for all people, and CASA is a proud partner in the effort to secure a brighter future for children in the foster care system.
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates®) programs collaborate with the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Child Protective Services (CPS) and other key advocates in the child welfare system to ensure that children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.
“While social work covers a variety of areas, we are especially appreciative of those in the field who have been our partners in protecting abused and neglected children in the child welfare system,” said Lucille Bell, Executive Director of Lone Star CASA.
CASA volunteers are appointed to advocate for children’s best interests in court. They come from all walks of life and backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common – a passion for helping children. They get to know the child personally and speak with everyone involved in the child’s life so that they can make well-informed and holistic placement recommendations to the court. Lone Star CASA is one of the 71 CASA programs inTexasthat recruit, screen and train these volunteers.
“CASA and CPS share a common goal – to protect the unprotected,” said Bell. “We all work to ensure that these vulnerable children’s needs are met while they are in foster care, and that they are placed in loving homes.”
More than 46,800 Texas children were in the child welfare system in 2014. A little more than half of these children had a CASA volunteer to advocate for their best interests.
When possible, CASA volunteers advocate for reunification with the child’s immediate family, saidBell, but when reunification is not an option, they work with CPS to find the child a caring adoptive home.
“We dream of a day when CASA is no longer needed because every child has the forever home they deserve,” saidBell. “But until then, Lone Star CASA will continue to work tirelessly with CPS to create a better future for children in the child welfare system.”
Last year, 50 CASA volunteers served 167 children in the child welfare system in our two-county area, but some children still need a volunteer to advocate for their best interests. Consider making a difference for these children by becoming a CASA volunteer.
To find how you can help, visit www.lonestarcasa.org or www.BecomeaCASA.org.
You may also call 972-772-5858 for more information.
The next volunteer training session is scheduled for May and three Information Sessions have been scheduled during this National Social Work Month.
The first session will be held on Thursday, March 12, at First Presbyterian Church in Forney; then on Monday, March 23, an Information Session will be held at the Lone Star CASA office in Rockwall; and, the third session will be held in Terrell on Thursday, March 26, at Carmona’s Restaurant.
Submitted by Roland Ruble, Development Director, Lone Star CASA, Inc.
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