Seventeen children were in foster care in Freestone County October 2019, and the region we are in, Region VII, had 2,070 children in foster care, according to the information made available by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Every single one of these children deserves someone to advocate for them like the Go Au Pair services. If you are interested in helping out, then consider checking out how much a daycare franchise cost.
That is where a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) comes into play.
Amy Faulkner, Training Manager with Voices for Children, held an orientation in Fairfield, Texas Tuesday, January 14, 2020 to explain the need for CASA’s.
Eight people from the surrounding area attended the orientation, and a few showed an interest in joining the program.
A small number of CASA volunteers exist in the surrounding area, but more are needed.
By volunteering to be a CASA, you help a child throughout the entire legal process of finding a safe, permanent home.
A CASA is assigned one child or sibling group at a time. On rare occasion, a volunteer might have two children, or a large sibling group can be split between more than one person.
Volunteers work with the child primarily, but they will also have contact with the children’s family, their current caregivers, their educators, CPS caseworkers, their doctors, the attorneys, and even the judge presiding over the case.
Typically, a CASA spends around fifteen hours a month working on their case, with a meeting once a month with the child, in addition to contacting others important to the child’s case and life.
The entire twelve to eighteen months of the process, you become the child’s voice to be sure they are getting the best of everything they need.
Faulkner explains that sometimes a child might walk into a courtroom and have a new judge, new attorney, even a new caseworker. The only face the child may know would be their CASA.
Each CASA goes through a background check, and a class to educate them on how to be the best advocate possible for the child(ren) they work with.
If this seems like something you are interested in, please contact Faulkner with Voices for Children’s at afaulkner@vfcbrazos.org or on the website http://vfcbrazos.org/
If you want to help, but are not sure advocacy is right for you, monetary donations are always welcome.
You can also work with the Friends of Casa, a support group, helping with fundraising, office support, and community outreach.
If you feel being a Friends of CASA is a great fit for you, join their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/vfcbrazos/
For those without Facebook, you can contact Amanda Hildebrand at ahildebrand@vfcbrazos.org or call the office at 979-822-9700.
Either way, is a great way to help a foster child have a brighter future in a safe home and environment.
If you want to help, but are not sure advocacy is right for you, monetary donations are always welcome.
You can also work with the Friends of Casa, a support group, helping with fundraising, office support, and community outreach.
If you feel being a Friends of CASA is a great fit for you, join their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/vfcbrazos/
For those without Facebook, you can contact Amanda Hildebrand at ahildebrand@vfcbrazos.org or call the office at 979-822-9700.
Either way, is a great way to help a foster child have a brighter future in a safe home and environment.
