Monday, November 29, 2010

CASA To Promote Cherokee County Foster Care Operations





CASA Opens Office To Aid Cherokee County Foster Care Children

JACKSONVILLE — More children being placed in foster care prompted Court Appointed Special Advocates to open its first office in Cherokee County.
The new office, which held an open house Tuesday, is at 514 E. Commerce St. in Jacksonville.
People, run for your lives...CASA is in town.

CASA is a nonprofit organization that backs and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so they can have safe, permanent homes, according to the national CASA website.

CASA is a nonprofit organization that backs and promotes child placing agencies who make large financial contributions in order to advocate for increased funding for local governments and its contractual arms, and to cover up in any and all violations of law and policy in a case.
Lee Ann Millender, executive director of CASA of Trinity Valley, said the new office is necessary because there is a high demand in Cherokee County. 

No, not high demand for CASA, high rate of poverty and high demand for services and resources where the only place to access assistance in in foster care.

Since July, about 40 children in the county have been removed and placed in foster care, she said. The number of children in foster care in the county has historically been in the 20s and low 30s.

“So since July, there's been so many placed in foster care because of abuse and neglect (that there is a need) to increase volunteers to advocate,” Ms. Millender said. “We're still trying to get more volunteers. I think we have eight active volunteers in Jacksonville, and we need that many more.”

She said families are stressed with the economic times and issues with substance abuse usually come out, so more children are ending up in foster care. Parents and their childhood history also play a significant role, she said.
“It's pretty much a combination of all those things going on or sometimes they don't have the resources or the support system,” Ms. Millender said.

Including the trend to remove children from the homes instead of providing services in the community.

She said that's when CASA tries to bridge those gaps.

When Child Protective Services removes a child, she said, the child may have to stay in foster care until parents can resolve issues or it may result in termination of parental rights and adoption by someone not related to the child.
In a majority of instances, the child goes back to their parents or another relative, she said. Some also may age out of foster care or are adopted.

“For a foster child, it can be constantly changing,” Ms. Millender said. “They're removed from what's familiar, they have to change schools, neighbors, change playmates.”

She said the Child Protective Services caseworker also will probably change several times, but CASA stays with the child from start to finish, which helps keep continuity.

That includes the CASA volunteers like Midge Going in Jacksonville.
She said being a volunteer has been interesting and rewarding as well as depressing at times.

When she receives a case, she said, the initial weeks are spent getting to know the child and finding out all she can about the case.
She said volunteers typically are supposed to make contact with the child at least once a month.

And, if the child is in school, CASA has access to the child's school and medical records and can check with teachers to see how the child is behaving during the school day, she said.

Ms. Going said she also tries to talk with foster parents or family members to tell them that CASA and others are involved to make sure the child's needs are taken care of.
One case she worked on was a mother who couldn't care for her two elementary age girls, she said. However, they had an older sister in Florida who wanted to adopt them, and they are now living with her.

Ms. Going said she once got a letter from the older child, who is now a high school freshman, that said she misses her mother but was thankful be taken care of and to have friends.


Most of the stories end in misery.  CASA does not advocate for the child, it advocates for the child welfare system.  If CASA actually what it claims to do, there would be training to report suspected violations of law to the local prosecution or attorney general.

Did you know CASA workers are not even considered as mandated reporters?  Just another reason why reports of harms to children in foster care go undocumented by the child abuse propaganda machines.

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