CASAs for Children 12th Annual Quilt Auction
CASAs for Children will hold its 12th Annual Silent Quilt Auction on Saturday, November 17, 2007, at the ConocoPhillips Atrium, 700 G Street, in downtown Anchorage. Preview of and bidding on over 150 quilts will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bidding closes at 2 p.m.
In addition to the quilts to be auctioned, there is a raffle quilt again this year. Raffle tickets are on sale now for $5 each or 5 tickets for $20. Completed quilts of any size and any theme will be gratefully accepted. The deadline for submitting a quilt is Saturday, November 10, 2007, at 12:00 noon. Click here to read all the details.
2007 Raffle Quilt
Be sure to mark your calendar - this is an event you will not want to miss! |
 2007 Alaska CASA/GAL Conference
The 2007 Alaska CASA/GAL Conference, Celebrating 20 Years of CASA in Alaska, was held September 14-15th at the Anchorage Millennium Hotel. Many thanks to all who participated in making this year's conference such a success!
Over 140 child advocates, social workers, foster parents and service providers joined Honorary Chairperson and Master of Ceremonies William Hitchcock for two days of informative workshops, networking with colleagues from across Alaska, and recognition of the enormous contribution CASA volunteers have made to Alaska's child protection system over the last two decades. Read more. |
From the Bench of... Master William Hitchcock
A generation has gone by since the Alaska CASA program was founded in 1987. For those of us who were fortunate enough to help pioneer the effort, it is a notable anniversary to celebrate. We have seen CASA grow and develop not only in Anchorage, but in many other parts of the state. The number of CASA volunteers who have helped us meet the needs of children in our system is truly impressive.
A lot has happened in the child protection system over these last two decades. We have seen the expansion of federal law in the form of the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act, and the enhancement of state efforts at improvement aided through the Child and Family Services Reviews and Court Improvement projects. Along the way there have been promising new practices in child abuse prevention and protection assisted by the efforts of foundations such as Pew, Annie E. Casey, the Packard foundation, Dave Thomas foundation and others.
Though problems still persist, we have a much more aligned and functional system of care than we had 20 years ago. Collaboration among courts, state agencies, child and parent advocates and the community in general is much more prevalent than it once was. There has been consistent improvement in achieving permanency for children in a much more expeditious fashion, including the movement of many children into adoptive homes that in years past often could not get adopted.
This is a time to celebrate and recognize the significant role everyday citizen volunteers have played in achieving better outcomes for children. It is also a time to continue to challenge us all to do a better and more effective job in overcoming the many barriers that often prevent us from reaching those outcomes. Happy Anniversary Alaska CASA! |
 News From Around the State
Anchorage
We are very excited to have just completed the Fall 2007 CASA training. We had a very enthusiastic group of CASAs for this session. They all were active participants, asking questions, giving input, and providing stimulating discussion. The training was our first opportunity to use the new CASA training curriculum. It was exciting to be able to present the new curriculum and it was well received by all the participants in the training. The Anchorage Staff is pleased to introduce the following new CASAs: Mechele Adams, Susan Bomalaski, Kim Burnett, Erin Patterson and Nakia Shy. Between thirty plus hours of training and homework assignments we kept the new CASAs very busy. Everyone worked very hard and the classes were enjoyed by all. We appreciate their hard work and are thrilled to welcome our new child advocates. More.
- June Haisten Fairbanks
The Fairbanks CASA program is moving into the winter season in full swing. We were happy to have eight quilts this year to donate to the CASAs For Children Annual Quilt Auction. Thanks to CASA volunteers Karen Binkley and Jan St. Peters for each donating a beautiful quilt. Besides that, this was the first year that GALs Anne Holmes and Karla Taylor-Welch put together a CASA group quilt project. They asked folks to donate nine-patch squares and then put them together into beautiful quilts. I have to say I was amazed by what they came up with. Thanks to those who offered time and patches for the group quilts.
We had 18 folks at the Fairbanks volunteer appreciation luncheon held on October 15. Gambardella's donated lunch and Access Alaska offered us a nice space to meet. It was such a pleasure to highlight the past year and begin thinking about the year ahead of us. We have a lot to look forward to! Read More.
- Jane Atkinson
Juneau
Our Juneau summer is gone and we are settling into our school routines. CASA volunteers are connecting with new teachers and school support programs so they can get in the information loop. We are fortunate to have a UAS professor from the education department as one of our volunteers. Jeffrey Lofthus is our resident expert and main resource for acronyms when it comes to navigating the sometimes complicated protocols at the schools. Read More
- Lynn Squires-White Valley
We are pleased to welcome Marian Charles to our Valley CASA team! Marian just completed CORE training and will be starting out on her first CASA case assignment. Very exciting for all of us! She recently retired after a 27 year teaching career in elementary schools across Alaska from Nome to Big Lake and her experience working with young children and her joy of life will be a wonderful asset to the CASA program.
CASA Barbara McDaniel shone brightly at this year's Annual CASA/GAL Conference, receiving the award as Valley CASA Program's "CASA of the Year." Read More.
- Cecily Skoog-Moore
Native Outreach Project
Cama'i. In mid-July Native CASA had the privilege to visit and inform Mat-Su ValleyTribes, Chickaloon, Eklutna and Knik, about the rewarding opportunity to serve our children in the child welfare system by becoming CASA volunteers. They graciously welcomed us (Elder Bertha Underwood and myself) and listened carefully as I informed them about the CASA program. Most were hearing about the program for the first time. I was fortunate indeed to time my visit to Chickaloon during their weekly Elder lunch gathering. It was a memorable occasion and especially meeting the Elders. Native CASA will be making another visit to the Tribes later this year, along with my adopted "cuz" Cecily Skoog-Moore. There's a good story as to why I adopted Cecily, but we'll save that for another time. We are so looking forward to our visit!! Read More.
Mahsi! - Kay Wallis
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CASAs for Children
I recently learned that a foster mother in one of my CASA cases from several years ago is taking CASA training. She was a very effective advocate for her daughter, and I complimented her and told her she should consider becoming a CASA. Now that her daughter is a little older, she is becoming a CASA and will use her advocacy skills on behalf of other abused children.
I mention this because I am a firm believer that as CASAs we leave a lasting legacy of hope for the children we represent. While the outcome is not always what we might wish for our kids, we know that the paths of children's lives are positively impacted by what we do. Read More.
Sallye Werner
Board President
Please check out the
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 Facing Foster Care in Alaska
Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA) has spent the past year focusing on education and foster care. We have had members traveling throughout the state with Casey Family Programs to address the need for youth in foster care to succeed in their schooling. All too often youth in foster care change schools with each change in home placement and fall behind academically and socially. We would like to see all youth who come into foster care remain in their primary schools. This gives them the opportunity to have consistent social networks with friends and teachers when there is so much chaos in their lives. CASA volunteers can help with this by advocating that the youth they are working with remain in their same schools when entering foster care.
Our next stops are Casey's Barrow and Juneau Education Convenings where we will share our position on education with social workers, GALs, CASAs, therapists, judges, and school district workers. We also have members headed out to share with other states how Alaska is collaborating to promote the educational success of youth in care.
We are holding our next statewide youth and alumni retreat in Anchorage from November 16th through the 18th at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center. The focus of this retreat will be to work on our new three-year strategic plan.
To find out more about FFCA, Contact Amanda Metivier at facing_fostercare@yahoo.com
Amanda Metivier |
 Law and Policy Update
The Child Advocacy Unit of the Office of Public Advocacy has a new website. Intended for both a general audience as well as a resource for child advocates across the state, the website offers a number of features: a complete directory of staff and contract GALs statewide; links to CINA Rule 11 regarding GALs and the Guidelines for GALs; information about guardianships and adoptions; links to resources and training opportunities and more soon to come. Check it out! |
 Book Review
Recently the Richmond Virginia CASA program sent a book to the CASA library entitled Claiming Georgia Tate by local Richmond author Gigi Amateau. (Editor's Note: the author provided a copy of her book to every CASA program in the country).
Georgia Tate is a young girl living in Mississippi and being raised by her grandparents. She is happy until a girlfriend reveals a "family secret" and shortly afterward there is a death in her family. Georgia Tate's life quickly takes a downward spiral of abuse and neglect. Along her journey, she meets a number of wonderful people who renew her spirit and joy.
It is a story of hope and taking back your life. Stop by and check it out! Beware: you will want a fish fry, hush puppies and cold watermelon after reading this book!
- June Haisten
(Editor's Note: CASA volunteers can earn continuing education credit for reading relevant books. Visit the Continuing Education page of our website for forms) | |
