Each year, Archon Group's summer intern class is encouraged to complete a daylong service project to help the soon-to-be-graduates learn about corporate community service.

 

"During this year's orientation at the beginning of the summer, we asked Executive Director Beverly Levy and CASA Supervisor Julie Johnson to speak with the interns and talk about Archon's unique relationship with CASA," said Stacey Giles, who oversees the summer internship program at Archon. "The interns all were taken with how CASA helps. They weren't required to work with CASA, but the mission compelled them to act."

Archon's interns stuffed 300 backpacks with school supplies for CASA kids at their Aug. 5 service day.

Archon's class of 43 interns brainstormed ways to help and decided to host a benefit car wash and backpack drive to benefit Dallas CASA and send our CASA kids back to school with confidence. On Aug. 5, the group set up shop at a local church and washed cars, collected supplies and assembled hundreds of backpacks to help CASA kids prepare to succeed this year.

 

"The Archon Intern Class of 2011, with the help of Archon's Women's Initiative Network, Frito-Lay and Kimberly Clark, who also donated supplies, gave 300 school-aged CASA kids everything they needed for the first day of school," said CASA Supervisor Julie Johnson. "Something that is routine to so many of us gives our kids the confidence they need to walk into their first day in a new place. We are so grateful for the interns' time and willingness to help."

 

Thank you to all the interns and the entire Archon staff for their continued support of Dallas CASA.

New laws passed during the 82^nd Texas Legislative Session will go into effect Aug. 29, and among these new laws are several which affect children in foster care, child protection and the support of CASA programs across the state.

 

More than a dozen approved bills will either improve or sustain current programs which provide critical support to help children in foster care heal from their abuse. Below are highlights of the CASA priorities achieved this session:

 

• $4 million in additional funding for CASA programs to help provide volunteers for the more than 50,000 children projected to be living in foster care in Texas by the end of 2014.
• Restore proposed cuts to Child Protective Services protecting adoption subsidies, foster care subsidy rates, caseworker jobs and stipends for relatives who step up to care for their family members' children.
• Redesign foster care to incentivize service and placements in the child's home community and achieve permanency as soon as possible.
• Create an interagency council to address disproportionality of African-American children in the juvenile system, child welfare system and education and mental health systems.
• Allow foster youth to request temporary housing between college semesters.
• Allow parents to appoint a relative authority to make decisions regarding their children.
• Require attorneys representing children to affirm that they have met with their clients if the children are not present at court hearings.
• Require the Health and Human Services Commission to monitor and review prescribing psychotropic medications to children in foster care.
• Provide a waiver for the driver's license fee for children in foster care.

Thank you to our incredibly generous legislators for continuing to support CASA programs across the state and for continuing to protect children. Thank you for standing up for abused and neglected children this legislative session.

 

Jessica Alexander ● Shamonica Alexander ● Ann Allison ● Lisa Anderson ● Mona Baker ● Sharon Balaban ● Ashley Ball ● Dennis Braziel ● Nancy Brenner ● Mark Butterly ● Kristie Carvajal ● Geordanna Cordero-Fields ● Heather Cronister ● Leeandra Gist ● Alice Hamilton ● Whitney Hanlon ● Kristen Hansen ● Ryan Higgins ● Jeanette Howell ● Kristan Hruby ● Penny Johnson ● Samia Jubran ● Elizabeth (Betsy) Linder ● Lacey Lucas ● Jane Matthews ● Dana McGrath ● Jeannae McKnight ● Laura Mendenhall ● Mindy Morse ● Reagan O'Brien ● Cynthia Peel ● Marc Reyes ● Carol Ross ● Bonita Tribble ● Joseph Wilbert  

Esther was nine months old when she had to be placed in a foster home by Child Protective Services after being abandoned by her mother. Joyce Gastler was appointed as her CASA volunteer.

After searching for several days, CPS finally located Esther's mother. CPS discovered the mother was a homeless minor and determined Esther needed to remain in protective care. When CPS interviewed Esther's mother, they learned she had a 2-year-old son named Amos who had been in the care of a relative since birth. When the relative found out about Esther, she offered to care for Esther as well.

Since Esther had been taken into care, she had been in a foster home where the foster parents also were interested in adoption. Though the home was safe, Joyce knew that if possible, Esther needed to be placed in a home that would allow her to maintain some contact with her birth family. Joyce advocated for Esther to be sent to live with her brother in their aunt's home.

Ultimately, CPS and the attorneys involved in the case agreed with Joyce's recommendation and determined that Esther needed to be given the opportunity to remain with family. She was sent to live with her aunt, where she now will be able to grow up with her brother and be in contact with her biological family.

"I was very happy for everyone involved but especially for Esther because I knew she was going to be with her own family," Joyce said. "Ultimately, we know that family isn't determined by genetics, but if it's possible to allow children to remain connected to their families of origin, that's one of the best things we can do for them. Being a part of a family who can care for you is a real blessing."

"The more I continue to maintain contact with this family, the better I feel about the permanent homes for Esther," she added.