A Child's Voice
                          July 2015

Our Mission

CASA Lake County is a nonprofit membership organization that advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children within the juvenile court system. Based on the belief that every child is entitled to a safe and permanent home, thoroughly trained CASA volunteers work in collaboration with key agencies, legal counsel and community resources to serve as the child's advocate and represent the child's best interest in juvenile court. 
 Meet Our Volunteers

Ron Roberti

Ron Roberti is one of our newest CASAs, sworn in on July 16. Ron has started work on his new case, involving three boys, aged 9,7, and 5. A long time foster parent, Ron and his wife fostered a dozen children and adopted one of their children from foster care. Ron learned about CASA when he attended an event for another CASA program. Click here to learn more about Ron, including the time he met Muhammed Ali!

Cathy Blythe

Meet Cathy Blythe! Cathy has been a CASA for almost 3 years. She just started work on her second case, advocating for five children. Cathy came to CASA, she says, when she had a "mid-life crisis." "I started taking inventory of my life and came to the conclusion that I wanted to make a difference. I grew up in a very abusive home, and as a result of that, I have struggled with low self-esteem. It wasn't until I had my own children that I started to find my voice. As a parent, I experience all levels of advocacy for my children and with those experiences, my confidence grew. Click here to learn more interesting facts about Cathy!

County Information
(2015 to date)
Children Served498
Active CASAs315
Total # Volunteer Hours30,000
              CASA Makes a Difference                    

  

  

Who are the children who need a CASA? Imagine growing up with your five sibling, never going to school, living in deplorable conditions, with no functioning plumbing in a garbage infested home. Imagine having a father who molests the girls and a mother who does not even know how old you are. This is the background of a group of six siblings we advocate for. The children have been separated into five separate foster homes, and present a broad array of special needs arising from a lifetime of extreme neglect and abuse. A team of three CASA volunteers visit the children in their foster homes at least monthly(sometimes more often) and communicate regularly with teachers and other professionals to ensure that the children are getting the help they need. And their reports ensure that the judge has up to date, detailed information about each child. Read more...
Say Hello to Our Newest CASAs
Sworn in July 16
Left to Right- Connie Fako-Shoemake (Palatine), Ron Roberti (Mundelein), Wendy Rosenholtz (Deerfield), Ellen Paton (Northbrook), Judge Val Ceckowski, Venetia Miles (Wheeling), Rosemary Reed (Barrington),Sara Monson (Highland Park), Lynda Turner (Libertyville), Suzanne Cash (Trainer).
Four CASA Siblings Find
 Happily Ever After
Art and Jesus pose with the children and their CASA's (Mary Weber and Cathy Blythe) at the 2015 Gala.
Chef Art Smith and Artist Jesus Salguiero, a well-known Chicago couple and honorees of the Terri Zenner Award at this year's Gala, have officially adopted the four siblings they took over care for in the Spring of 2014. The children (ages 6-12), who benefited from the advocacy of two devoted CASA volunteers, had endured abuse and hardship before Art and Jesus came along, and were also at risk of being separated from one another. Fast-forward to this summer, the children were adopted on June 23. The adoption took place at the courthouse off of Milwaukee Ave. in Vernon Hills and was granted by Judge Lessman. Close friends and family members of the couple attended the adoption, as well as one of the CASAs who worked on the case, and CASA employees including Executive Director, Terri Zenner Greenberg and Advocate Manager, Hope May. After the ceremony concluded, the couple announced that the children would be baptized the following week, June 30. Read more...
CASA Lake County
700 Forest Edge Dr.
Vernon Hills, IL 
847-383-6260
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