Voices for Children, an established non-profit in the Brazos Valley, is now extending their services to Freestone and Limestone Counties. Voices for Children is a local branch of the national CASA program.
CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate and was originally established in Washington state in the 1970s. It has since grown from that first program to a network of nearly 1,000 CASA programs all over the nation, including 72 programs in Texas alone.
These programs are designed to recruit and train volunteers from the community to stand up in court and advocate for abused and neglected children in the foster care system. CASA volunteers undergo 50 hours of pre-service training, including 33 hours of classroom training and 20 hours of study, criminal and CPS background checks, and are sworn in as guardian ad litems by a local judge.
A guardian ad litem is an advocate appointed by the court to speak to what is in the best interest of a child. The guardian ad litem is charged with the investigation, facilitation, and monitoring of the situation while the state is involved in a family’s life when abuse of a child is confirmed. The role of a CASA advocate is exactly that – the advocate will learn everything they can about the child or children involved in a child protection case and then make informed recommendations to the court as to what is best for the child/children regarding their immediate needs, and ultimately, the safest, most permanent home for each child.
Anjuli “A.J.” Renold, Executive Director of Voices for Children, expands on the role of a CASA advocate – “The main goal is to reunite children with their parents, but sometimes that is not the best option. In that case, the advocate will work to identify the best alternative to find a safe and loving home. Children removed due to abuse or neglect deserve a trained advocate to watch over them as they move through the court process.”
Voices for Children was incorporated as an organization in 2000, with the first group of CASA advocates completing training in July 2001. Voices for Children expanded to include Grimes County in 2007, Burleson County in 2009, and Leon and Madison Counties in 2017.
Currently, Voices for Children is automatically appointed to every child who enters foster care in the counties served and supports an advocate from the community for every case. The organization is currently serving 210, utilizing 100 volunteers from the Brazos Valley Community. Voices for Children looks forward to serving every child in need of an advocate in Limestone and Freestone County.
Voices for Children is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Bryan, TX. Funding for their services is procured from grants, local individual and corporate donations, and fundraising efforts. The mission of the organization is to improve the lives of children in foster care through powerful volunteer advocacy ensuring each child is placed in a safe and permanent home.
The next advocate training starts June 2019. To learn more about this great organization and their noble cause go to vfcbrazos.org, follow them on facebook and Instagram @vfcbrazos.
