Georgia CASA Connector E-Newsletter              Summer 2012

Georgia CASA is committed to maintaining a network of well-administered affiliate programs that operate independently with mutual accountability, resulting in the highest level of advocacy for all of Georgia's deprived children.

In This Issue
CASA Volunteer Profile
Mandated Reporters
Affiliate Program Highlights
Advisory Board Appointments
Donors for the Quarter
CASA Meets Congress 2012
Several CASA volunteers, board and staff members from Georgia traveled to Washington, DC, in June for the annual National CASA Conference. Part of the activities included CASA Meets Congress, where constituents met with staff from the offices of Georgia senators and representatives to ask for federal funding support of the CASA organization.
 
CASA Meets Congress 2012 
Events Calendar

  

8/21-23: Training of the Facilitator
 
9/18-19: Fall Council of Programs Meeting
 


2/5/2013:
CASA at the Capitol Day
Save the Date!

3/16/2013:
Georgia CASA Conference
Save the Date!

3/27/2013:
Georgia CASA Luncheon & Fashion Show
Save the Date!
Quick Links...
 

Campaign Donate Picture
CASA Volunteer Profile: Pamela Berger, 2011 CASA Volunteer of the Year in Georgia
Pamela Berger, the 2011 CASA Volunteer of the Year in Georgia from Rockdale CASA, recently shared her thoughts on being a CASA  volunteer.

 

Georgia CASA: When did you become a CASA volunteer?

Pam: I was sworn-in as a CASA volunteer in Rockdale County in March of 2000.

  

 

Georgia CASA: How did you learn about CASA? What made you want to become involved?

Pam: I first learned about the CASA program through an ad in our local paper. I have to admit that it took me awhile to decide if I wanted to become a CASA volunteer! I don't have children of my own, but for as long as I can remember, I always knew I was meant to help and be involved with children. The advocacy work really appealed to me, but I remember thinking about whether I could really be qualified to do that kind of work. I literally cut out the ad and kept it for two years before responding! I had tried on a few other volunteer roles, but none appealed to me as much as the possibility of really being able to make a difference in a child's life. And once I looked into that first child's eyes, I wondered why it took me so long!

  

Georgia CASA: What qualities do you think are important to have as a CASA volunteer?

 

Pam: I think passion is first on my list. As a CASA volunteer, you have to have passion for the work we do and truly believe you can make a difference. Passion is what gets me through the frustrations and heartbreak; it helps me carry on the significant work necessary to see a child through probably the worst part of his/her life. The next quality would be the ability to stay open and non-judgmental. Some of my early mistakes as a CASA volunteer came because I had pre-judged and already decided what I thought about a parent, which in the end was wrong. We have to stay open to be able to see a family's circumstances from different perspectives, as well as think outside the box to explore different possibilities and solutions. Also, keeping a cheerful disposition and positive outlook helps keep me going. Without a positive attitude and joyful spirit, it would be difficult to get up each day and help a child deal with the pain and confusion of why they are not home with his/her parents.

 

 

Georgia CASA: What has been your greatest challenge as a CASA volunteer?

 

 

Pam: One of the greatest challenges for me is maneuvering through a broken child welfare system. As a CASA volunteer, you do your best to keep a case moving along, only to meet with obstacles that are completely out of your control, such as parents not following their case plan, case managers leaving and having to start over with a new case manager. Most frustrating is advocating for a child who desperately needs psychological help and just when you see the therapy begin to have some positive results, even that becomes disrupted and the child has to begin again with another therapist. To say we have to have patience is an understatement, but most important is persistence.

 

 

Continued...click here to finish reading article. 

 

 

 

CASA Volunteers as Mandated Reporters

Recent legislative changes went into effect on July 1st, which make all CASA volunteers mandated reporters. Georgia House Bill 1176, which was focused on the reform of adult criminal proceedings, also amended O.C.G.A. � 19-7-5 to expand the professionals required to report child abuse. The statute now includes clergy members and added definitions to clarify that coaches and university personnel are required to report. 

 

While "child service organization personnel" had previously been included in the law, the definition was clarified to include all "persons employed by or volunteering at a business or an organization, whether public, private, for profit, not for profit, or voluntary, that provides care, treatment, education, training, supervision, coaching, counseling, recreational programs, or shelter to children." (Emphasis added.)

 

It has long since been an internal affiliate CASA Program Standard for CASA volunteers to be mandated reporters; however, this recent addition to state law now makes it a misdemeanor for a volunteer to knowingly or willfully fail to report. Should the report turn out to be false, any person found to be making such report in good faith will be immune from civil or criminal liability.  

 

To receive training regarding the basics of mandated reporting, changes to the mandated reporter statute, as well as how to recognize signs that child abuse or neglect is occurring, register for the free webinar hosted by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on Thursday, August 2nd from 1 - 2:30 p.m. or repeated on Tuesday, August 21st from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m.

Affiliate Program Highlights

 

Several affiliate CASA programs will be having 5K Runs throughout the coming months. Many of them will have a superhero theme where participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite superhero.Superhero Run Logo
We believe CASA volunteers are superheroes for the children they serve! By participating in one of these fundraising events, you can be a superhero for these children as well! We invite you to join a run/walk near you!

For more information about individual events, please contact the affiliate program listed for each event if a web link is not included.

 

   

On June 8th, the Cobb County CASA program had a group of 20 CASA volunteers and guests that attended a taping of the Family Feud game show in Atlanta. Cobb County CASA will receive a donation from audience organizers based on the group size. Comedian and show host Steve Harvey accepted questions from the audience during breaks.

Advisory Board Appointments

Congratulations to Brad Ray, Executive Director of SOWEGA CASA, in Americus, who was recently appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to the State's Office of the Child Advocate AdvisoryBrad Ray Board. The Office of the Child Advocate's vision is to be "the first place for those in government and the private sector to turn for advice, assistance and aid regarding the at-risk families and foster children of our state." The Advisory Board has seven members. Brad was nominated by Judge Lisa Rambo, juvenile court judge in Americus, who also serves on the Advisory Board.                      

 

 

Congratulations to Angela Tyner, Director of Advocacy & Program Angela TynerDevelopment at Georgia CASA, who was recently elected to serve on the National Advisory Board for CAPTA Citizen Review Panels. (CAPTA stands for Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act.) The Advisory Board promotes Citizen Review Panels and the power of the community to end child abuse and neglect, coordinates communications among Panels in the U.S. and shares promising practices to facilitate the work of the Panels.

Thank You to Our Donors for Spring 2012 
Our donors help Georgia CASA to have a significant impact on the work of our affiliate CASA programs statewide. We would like to especially thank our donors for Spring 2012! Thank you for supporting the work of CASA volunteers in Georgia.

 

Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (Georgia CASA) develops and supports court-sanctioned, community-based programs that provide trained and supervised volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in juvenile court deprivation proceedings. Currently, 47 affiliate programs throughout the state serve 140 counties. Last year, over 8,700 children were served by 2,100 CASA volunteers. 

  www.gacasa.org
404.874.2888 or 800.251.4012
fax 404.874.2889
A Member of The National CASA Association
 
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