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Sonoma County CASA seeks volunteer mentors for neglected children
Training begins Jan. 18 trough Jan. 31
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Sonoma County CASA, serving neglected and abused children for 10 years, is seeking volunteers to become youth advocates and mentors for children who have been removed from their homes by the child welfare and protective services system.
CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, provides adult mentors to nearly 200 children annually who need a special friend and advocate to support them and provide a consistent presence in the sometimes lonely and scary world of foster homes, court rooms and counselors’ offices.
Juvenile court officials have identified several additional youngsters who need mentors and CASA is appealing to Sonoma County residents to volunteer.
“These kids need a CASA mentor to provide consistent and personal support as they go through months and sometimes years of legal procedures and face a cast of revolving characters including foster parents, counselors, investigators, judges and lawyers,” said Millie Gilson, executive director of CASA. “CASA volunteers provide the human contact the kids need and the adult experience and savvy the court needs to make better decisions for these kids.”
Gilson said volunteers are asked to spend a minimum of 10-12 hours a month with their CASA youngster. She said CASA currently has about 100 volunteers, and she hopes to recruit another 20-30 with the next training.
CASA volunteers also advise the court on the status of the youngsters, and the court takes that information into considering when deciding the best course of action for the children.
Sonoma County CASA was founded in 1996 to help the most desperate abused and neglected children identified by Sonoma County Courts. There are more than 600 children under the jurisdiction of the child welfare system at any given time in Sonoma County. Every month there are from 20 to 40 youngsters the court has placed on a waiting list for a match with a new CASA volunteer mentor.
“There is never a time, sadly, when there are not more needy children than we are able to serve,” said Gilson. “A CASA volunteer can mean everything to these kids who are in foster care, a group home or some other situation away from their parents. So, we’re asking everyone, during this our 10th anniversary, to look into their hearts to see if they can set aside a few hours a month for these children.”
The two-week training begins Jan. 18 and continues through Jan. 31. Classes are held at CASA‘s office at the Los Guilicos complex near Oakmont in Santa Rosa.
• For more information, contact Gilson at 707-565-6375.
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