Georgia CASA Connector E-Newsletter                Winter 2014

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 dependent children.

In This Issue
Op-Ed Article
CASA Success Story
Affiliate Program Highlights
Thank You to Our Donors
Upcoming Events
New Affiliate CASA Program Begins

   

CASA of the Towaliga Judicial Circuit offically began on January 1st! The newest affilaite CASA program in Georgia serves Butts, Lamar and Monroe counties in Middle Georgia. CASA program director is Larry Waller. To contact the program, call

(706) 358-5029 or email [email protected].   

2013 CASA Volunteer of the Year in Georgia

   


 

Angela Langstrom
Children's Voice: CASA
She will be awarded at the Georgia CASA Conference on March 15th. 

  

We also congratulate the following nominees:

 

Stephanie Astalos-Jones, Northeast Georgia CASA

 

Sandra Bath & Dorinda Duggan,

 Savannah/Chatham County CASA

 

Carolyn Beeker,

DeKalb County CASA

 

Wendy Bethea,

CASA of Polk & Haralson Counties

 

Dave Borden,

Enotah CASA

 

Wendy Capes,

CASA Glynn

 

Charlotte Carpenter,

Piedmont CASA

 

Jane Cashin,

CASA of the Augusta Judicial Circuit

 

Sandra Edenfield,

Advo-Kids CASA

 

Cindy Evers,

Coastal Plain CASA

 

Paula Hall,

Atlantic Area CASA

 

Molly Hevia,

CASA of Forsyth County

 

John Huerta,

Fulton County CASA

 

Patsy Kilmartin,

Hall-Dawson CASA

  

Julie Noah,

CASA of Paulding County

 

Melanie Reiser,

CASA of the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit

 

Cynthia Rodgers,

CASA of Houston County

 

Gwen Rustin,

CASA of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit

 

Mindy Smith,

Coweta CASA

 

Laurie Smithson,

Chattahoochee CASA

 

Valerie Tuttle,

Floyd County CASA

 

Karen Wylie,

Gordon County CASA

 

Kathy Yarbrough,

Bartow County CASA

 

Bruce Zamelsky,

CASA of Troup & Heard Counties

Events Calendar

   

2/4:

CASA Day at the Capitol

(Atlanta)

    

3/15:

Georgia CASA Conference

(Atlanta Marriott Marquis)

 

3/26:

Georgia CASA Luncheon & Fashion Show

(Piedmont Driving Club)

Honoring Judge Glenda Hatchett

 

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Quick Links...
 

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Op-Ed Article from Georgia CASA on Child Welfare in Georgia

In November, the Editorial Board of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brought awareness to the challenges of taking care of Georgia's most vulnerable citizens, our children. The child welfare system in our state is "under-resourced and under-appreciated" (Child protection is responsibility for all, Melissa Carter, 11/3/2013), leading to problems with its efficiency and effectiveness. Recent changes to the juvenile justice system in Georgia, through the juvenile justice reform bill, change the handling of cases of not only delinquent children, but abused and neglected children as well.  Based on research and best practices, Georgia's juvenile code has been reorganized, revised and modernized to result in positive changes that will make a difference in the lives of many generations of Georgia's children and families for years to come. However, the system still requires help from numerous community organizations and individuals working together with government agencies to better protect abused and neglected children.

Child welfare in Georgia should ultimately be about the unalienable rights of a child. Our children need to do more than simply survive. They deserve to thrive, in the safety and love of a family, throughout their childhood and into adulthood.

Over 13,000 children came through Georgia's foster care system last year, and on any given day over 7,000 children are in foster care. In our state, there are numerous community-based organizations that help these children, including the Court Appointed Special Advocates  (CASA) program. The CASA program works to ensure a qualified, compassionate adult will fight for and protect a child's right to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to learn and grow in the safe embrace of a loving family. A CASA is a deeply committed, specially trained, independent volunteer who works within the child welfare system and is appointed by juvenile court judges to individual cases. CASA volunteers partner with DFCS and many other child welfare providers as they advocate for the best interests of these children.

Currently, the CASA program in Georgia has 2,200 CASA volunteers throughout the state who advocate for about 60% of the abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes and enter the juvenile court system. CASA volunteers are ordinary individuals - from our own communities - who do extraordinary work on behalf of these children, such as helping to unite children with relatives, encouraging parents to get their lives back on track, helping to find adoptive homes, ensuring children's educational and medical needs are met, and aiding foster youth with needed skills to successfully transition to adulthood. About 40% of the current foster children still need a CASA volunteer.

We applaud the faith-based community, the support of our elected and public officials, and many, many others in our communities who work together every day to help these children live lives of destiny, rather than fate, to the benefit of their children and generations to come. We must remember that once grown, these former foster children will become our future doctors, teachers and leaders. Our opportunity then, which lies within our challenge, is to help every child come out of this tumultuous period of vulnerability and fear recognizing his or her own potential and believing in himself or herself.

We encourage each and every one of you to get involved in your communities, in some way, to help support the children in our child welfare system. The opportunities are numerous.

 

Volunteers Collage
 

CASA Success Story
Story orginally published by The National CASA Association
 
Roseann Hooper was surprised to see a delivery driver headed to the front door of her Savannah home bearing a brightly wrapped
houseplant.
    

"It wasn't my birthday, not my anniversary, I thought, who could be sending me a gift? But then I saw the five pink carnations tucked into the plant's pot, and I knew before I opened the card, which read: 'Thank you for everything, ~The White Family.' "

It had been one year since Roseann, a volunteer with Savannah/Chatham County CASA, first met the family-five children ranging in age from 5 to 16 years old.

The children came into care in June 2012. Their mother - avoiding a court hearing in her home state of Florida - had driven her five children to Savannah. When she was questioned in a park by police for odd behavior, she and the children gave false names, leaving the authorities no choice but to take everyone into custody.

"It was scary," says Selina, the oldest of the children. "The FBI interrogated us for nearly four hours. I had no idea what was going on. It was like an out-of-body experience."

The mother was arrested for obstruction of justice, and returned to Florida to face additional charges. The children were placed in three different foster and group homes. Roseann would come to Selina's group home each week, when the siblings were all brought together for weekly visits...

To read the rest of this heartwarming story, please click here!

Upcoming Georgia CASA Events

CASA at the Capitol Day - February 4, 2014

This annual event for CASA staff, board members and volunteers will take place on Tuesday, February 4th at the Capitol in Atlanta. The day will include meetings with legislators and a thank you luncheon for legislators. For more details on the event, please visit the Capitol Day event page.

 

Georgia CASA Conference - March 15, 2014

We look forward to this annual event, which is a great networking and
  learning opportunity for CASA volunteers, staff, board members and supporters from around the state. The Georgia CASA conference will take place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta on Saturday, March 15th. Victoria Rowell, actress and former foster child, will be the keynote speaker at the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. For more details and to register, please visit the conference web site page.

  

 

Georgia CASA Luncheon & Fashion Show - March 26, 2014

The 10th annual Luncheon & Fashion Show will be held at the  Piedmont Driving Club at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 26th. This year we will honor Judge Glenda Hatchett for her service to children. You don't want to miss this event, and have the opportunity to hear  her speak! The event includes a seated luncheon, fashion show and raffle prize packages. Sponsors and table hosts are also invited to a Preview Party to the event that will be held one evening in March. For more details on the event and to reserve your spot, please visit the Luncheon & Fashion Show web site page

Thank You to Our Year-End 2013 Donors

Our donors help Georgia CASA make a significant impact by enabling our affiliate CASA programs statewide to fulfill their mission of providing high quality advocacy, through CASA volunteers, to abused and neglected children. We would like to especially thank our donors for year-end 2013! Thank you for supporting the work of CASA volunteers in Georgia!

 

thankyou_paper_hdr.jpg 

  
Would you consider donating today? You can donate to Georgia CASA or an affiliate CASA program, as well as give a recurring donation online.  
Affiliate Program Highlights

Fulton County CASA recently received a $10,000 grant from the Amerigroup Foundation to help recruit, train and supervise CASA volunteers. Amerigroup Georgia administers managed healthcare for children in foster care in the state.

 

Several highlights of fall events from our affiliate programs included the following:

  • Celebrity Golf Tournament, benefitting Children's Voice CASA (Douglas County) and CASA of Polk & Haralson Counties - event included a gala the evening before with food, entertainment, auctions and celebrity meet & greets; each tournament team included professional player and a celebrity player; to see pictures from the events, click here
  • Zumba Fest, benefitting CASA of Houston County - participants had a great time doing zumba and learning more about CASA; door prizes were given away; a local TV news station covered the event
  • Casablanca Casino Night, benefitting Hall-Dawson CASA - raised over $55,000 at the 7th annual event; featured The Vertigo Band with Peggy Hoskins
  • Dancing with the Savannah Stars, benefitting Savannah/Chatham County CASA - raised over $80,000 at the 6th annual event; eight Savannah dancing celebrity stars helped to raise funds over a 12-week period

25th CASA Logo Black & White
 

 

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 dependency proceedings. Currently, 47 affiliate programs throughout the state serve 140 counties. Last year, 8,890 children were served by 2,165 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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