You can make a difference in a child’s life by becoming a Volunteer Advocate for an abused or neglected child through Lassen Family Services CASA Program.
Lassen Family Services CASA Program is looking for community members to advocate for children in the dependency court system and will offer training for new volunteers.
“We are excited about the upcoming training because it will be mostly online similar to a college class with only five in-class sessions and the rest of the training done online in an interactive format with staff trainers and other CASA volunteers,” explains CASA Program Manager Claudia Ellis. “This new online format allows the CASA volunteer to access the curriculum on their schedule.”
A CASA volunteer is a community member who has been screened and trained to work directly with children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect. The children end up in the foster care and dependency court system. A CASA volunteer gets to know the child’s entire environment and as a sworn officer of the Court, makes recommendations to the Court as to what is in the best interest of the child.
There will be an information meeting Wednesday, October 17th, from 5:30 until 7:00p.m. at the Lassen Family Services office at 1306 Riverside Drive. Classes start the week of October 29th.
“Lassen CASA seeks a diverse population of volunteers to help our children,” said Ellis. “Native American, CASA teams such as husband-wife, mother-daughter or friends, men, people who specifically want to work with younger children or teens and anyone interested in working with foster kids are needed to advocate for children in the foster care system.”
To be a Volunteer Advocate you must; be 21 years of age or over; pass a thorough background check including fingerprinting; attend the 32-hour CASA training; devote at least 8-hours a month to the CASA case; have a car and current auto insurance and provide a DMV printout of your driving record.
Interested community members can contact Ellis at 530.257.4599, 530.249.8396 or email [email protected].
According to Ellis LFS CASA has served 54 children in the dependency court system so far this year and are currently serving 35 children with 6 children on a waiting list for a CASA volunteer.
Make a difference in a child’s life – become a CASA volunteer.
