Change A Child's Story Become a CASA Volunteer

by Annette Summers

On any given day there are roughly 75 children in foster care in Logan County, and more than 7,000 across the state of Arkansas. These children are removed from their homes due to having experienced abuse and/or neglect, but their hardships do not end there. Foster care itself is challenging. Not only do foster children find themselves uprooted from the only family/living situation they have grown up knowing, but often they are forced to change schools, move away from friends, and/or be separated from their siblings. All the while, they find themselves feeling powerless in a complex juvenile court system that is at times even difficult for well-resourced adults to understand and navigate. This is why the role of CASA volunteers is so vital - they are a consistent and reliable adult in the child’s life as they make their way through the foster care system.

More specifically, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) are volunteers appointed by a judge to advocate for the best interest of abused and neglected children in the courtroom and other settings such as school. They get to know all people involved in the child’s life such as parents, foster parents, and school officials, but most importantly they get to know the child. CASA volunteers then help convey the child’s wishes and makes recommendations to the court on their behalf.

CASA of the Tri-Peaks specifically serves foster children from Logan, Scott, and Yell counties. Children that have a CASA volunteer are shown to have better outcomes than those children without one. For example, they have improved educational outcomes, spend less time in foster care and are half as likely to re-enter foster care. Although CASA of the Tri-Peaks’ goal is to eventually be able to serve all foster children in these counties, the need currently exceeds available volunteers. These are children from our community, and they need committed adults to be by their side during their foster care journey. Please visit www.casaofthetripeaks.org or call the local office at 479-675-2641 to learn how you can become a CASA volunteer.