We see lots of statistics and reports about the amazing work that our CASA volunteer advocates are doing every single day. It is important to remember that many times, the benefit of the advocacy work they do won’t be realized until years later. When children are infants or toddlers, they have no idea that a stranger who is volunteering their time to speak on their behalf is making sure that child has the best chance to grow up healthy, happy, and in a home where they are loved.
Our CASA office is fortunate to have many advocates who care deeply about doing the right thing and volunteering their time to impact someone else’s life. They do it because they know these children need support and someone to look out for their best interests. Our CASA advocates are some of the best advocates these kids could ever hope to have in their lives. And our results on the cases that our volunteers have served have proven that for the past couple of years.
We review case closures and outcomes often to make sure each child we serve ends up being in a better situation than when they came into the foster care system. The family reunification rates in Bell/Coryell are extraordinary when compared to children who do not have a CASA volunteer working with their cases. Over the past two years, our volunteers and staff have achieved the reunification of children with their primary families in about 56% of the cases we have worked. That compares with around 40% for cases that don’t have a CASA volunteer assigned to them. This result comes from diligent work with each family and spending a great deal of time with each child to ensure that they know they are loved and cared for while they are in foster care. This helps bridge that gap of time until parents can successfully be reunited, which is our ultimate goal at the start of every case.
Our challenge is always to recruit more volunteers so we can impact more children. Currently, we are serving only about 20% of the kids in foster care in Bell and Coryell Counties. The only way we can improve that number is to find more people willing to volunteer their time to help these kids. I would like each person reading this newsletter to please consider becoming a CASA advocate. If you can’t find the time, ask a friend or family member to join us as a volunteer. It’s the only way we can make a serious dent in the number of children who need a CASA by their side.
Please help us by volunteering for CASA today or help us spread the word that we need more advocates to help change kids’ lives. I think you will be surprised at how much your life will change when you volunteer to make a huge difference for the kids in foster care in our area.
Every child deserves a chance…….it’s YOU!
Kevin