Currently in Northeast Louisiana, 132 children in foster care are waiting for a volunteer to plead on their behalf. This number represents over 80 households in our local communities with children and their siblings in need of a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). This is the person who isn’t a therapist, schoolteacher, or family member of the child, but is someone appointed by a judge to help ensure that each abused or neglected child is placed in a safe, permanent home as quickly as possible.
CASA volunteers are urgently needed in our local regional areas: Lincoln, Union, Caldwell, West Carroll, Richland, Franklin, East Carroll, Tensas, and Madison Parishes. When you are trained and become a Court Appointed Special Advocate, you will be the eyes and ears for the court system, collecting information through observation, in home visits and meetings with key people in the child’s life to report to the judge presiding over the child’s case. Once training is complete, the expectations are to see the child monthly, gather information from teachers and family members, and report observations to the judge in court, approximately two to eight hours a month.
For 23 years, CASA of Northeast Louisiana has advocated for approximately 1900 children in need of care and has trained nearly 800 local community volunteers. These CASA volunteers come from all walks of life and are a powerful voice for a child during their most vulnerable time.
Training is being scheduled now for May in Lincoln and Union Parishes. Volunteers may sign up by visiting www.casaofnela.org or calling 318-245-3646.
CASA of NELA is a division of The Center for Children and Families.
