North Star CASA needs area volunteers

North Star Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) started serving Young County children in 2001 as a program under the umbrella of Virginia’s and Dr. Goodall’s House and is searching for volunteers.

A CASA volunteer is trained and appointed by a judge to step in when a home is no longer safe and a child must enter the foster care system. According to Virginia’s and Dr. Goodall’s House Director Trish Remington the CASA volunteers focus is on the child, giving hope and guiding the child to a safe, permanent home.

Currently the program only has seven CASAs serving 32 children in the system. Remington said each CASA should only be serving one to two cases at a time.

“They need your help, there are children needing your help,” Remington wrote in a press release. “CASAs make a huge difference in a child’s life, in a child’s case. If you are wanting to make a difference in a child’s life now is the time.”

A volunteer will go to court about four or five times a year and may attend a few daytime meetings. The rest of the volunteer’s work is done reading reports, emailing, visiting the child, parents, social worker, teacher, etc. Throughout  the case, CASAs typically spend 10 to 15 hours a month working on their case. A CASA must be 21-years-old, pass complete background checks and are asked to commit to one year of service.

For more information about CASA or to volunteer, call 940-549-9829 or visit their website at www.virginashousetx.org.

For the rest of the story, see the Saturday, June 1 edition of The Graham Leader.