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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Contact:
Wendy Mayo, Court Appointed Special Advocate
Coordinator, (360) 709-3231.
Volunteers
Sought to Assist Children in Court Cases
OLYMPIA
--
Thurston
County
is looking for some special volunteers to assist children in certain court
cases. Children who are in the
dependency process need a voice in court to help them find a safe, permanent
home in an efficient manner. They
need an advocate to share with the court what the child wants and what is in
the child’s best interest.
The
Thurston County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program was first
created in 1991, following a yearlong study of similar programs throughout the
state. The program began with a
core group of 14 highly trained volunteers and now has roughly 40 active
members working with 110 dependent children primarily between the ages of 1-6.
CASA Volunteers can be assigned one or several cases.
Court
Appointed Special Advocates are trained volunteers who are asked by a Judge to
find out what is in the best interests of an abused or neglected child.
Volunteer advocates carefully research the child’s world and make
recommendations to the Court. The
vision of CASA is to ensure that every child has a safe, supportive, and
permanent home. A CASA volunteer works as an official part of the judicial
proceedings, working alongside attorneys and social workers as the “voice of
the child” in court proceedings.
CASA
volunteers are required to attend approximately 30 hours of pre-service
training, which includes classroom, observation and mentoring hours, and 12
hours of in-service training annually. The next scheduled training is August
10th, 11th, 17th, 18th.
Thurston County CASA Program is now in great need
of new volunteers. If you,
or someone you know may be interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, or may
need more information or an application, please contact Wendy Mayo (MAY- O) at
(360) 709-3231.
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