Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Southern Connecticut submitted the following release about a national grant it has received to help vulnerable youth.
CASA of Southern Connecticut has been awarded a $75,000 Development Grant from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association for Children. CASA of Southern Connecticut recruits, trains, and supports volunteers to advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect.
The grant will enable CASA of Southern Connecticut to increase the number of children served in New Haven County initially, and eventually also New London and Middlesex counties. Volunteers advocate for needs of at-risk and underserved youth, and help mentor them toward stronger connections with community and family, improved educational outcomes, and stable placements. Already, the opioid epidemic drove the number of children in foster care in the state — after a multi-year decline — to over four thousand in a given month. Amid the pandemic, it’s feared abuse and neglect are underreported with schools in some communities closed or open on only a hybrid basis. Children in foster care face extra challenges visiting with their families and with social workers. Volunteer advocates are needed, with remote/online training available.
“This grant is key as we expand on our encouraging start-up and early growth in 2020, despite the pandemic. We have begun to serve children with carefully trained, supported volunteers,” said Josiah H. Brown, executive director of CASA of Southern Connecticut. “We look forward to continuing to work with the state’s Judicial Branch and Department of Children and Families (DCF), and encourage prospective volunteers of all backgrounds to apply to join this movement. Volunteer advocates help identify safe, permanent homes where children can thrive.” He added, “The competitive grant from National CASA provides financial resources and further confidence as we raise complementary funds — from foundations like Newman’s Own as well as individual donors — locally to make CASA’s lean, volunteer-based approach widely available in our state.”
There are 948 CASA-affiliated programs nationwide, in 49 states, supporting volunteers who work on behalf of children in the child welfare system. CASA advocacy enables judges to make the most well-informed decisions for each child. To learn more, visit nationalcasagal.org. The federal grant funds distributed via National CASA are provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. DOJ, as authorized under the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. In 2020, National CASA was awarded nearly $10 million in federal grants.
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About CASA of Southern Connecticut
After starting up and receiving federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2019, CASA of Southern Connecticut launched its website (https://casasouthct.org/) — with information about the CASA role in advancing child welfare; how to volunteer; a growing Board of Directors; an Advisory Council; Ambassadors raising awareness; and how to donate to support this work.
Also recommended is a February 2020 feature on CASA of Southern Connecticut that Ann Nyberg of WTNH posted to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcYbjenzulE
Most recent is a new YouTube channel — please “subscribe,” and connect with us on our growing social media outlets, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
As op-eds for Foster Care Month (May) and Reunification Month (June) described in the Connecticut Mirror and the New Haven Register, CASA of Southern Connecticut is dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers to help determine and advance the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. These volunteers meet with children at least monthly, getting to know them and their circumstances — including teachers and social workers, foster parents and families. Carefully screened and trained through a systematic curriculum and part of a national network recognized for improving outcomes for kids, CASAs make evidence-based recommendations to judges. At the center: these caring, consistent volunteers’ relationships with the children themselves — with whom these adults can make a lifelong difference through one-on-one interactions at a difficult time.
The CASA network is expanding as a result of a 2016 state law, and is bolstered by a statewide association and an established program in Fairfield County: CASA of Southwest Connecticut. Until now, only 1 percent of Connecticut’s eligible children had CASA volunteers, reflecting an unmet need and an opportunity to get involved. The first CASA of Southern Connecticut volunteer cohort trained in December 2019 and began advocacy in juvenile courts early in 2020. Three additional cohorts trained, using an online/Zoom curriculum, during 2020.
Boosted by national grants of $100,000 for 2020, a $60-Thousand targeted Mentoring Grant for 2020 – 2022, and now the $75,000 for 2021, CASA of Southern Connecticut depends also on individual donations and foundation grants to sustain its work. The organization participated in the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s Great Give — and plans to do so again in May 2021. We have a year-round profile on the Community Foundation’s platform, too.
A growing number of contributors have already joined our Circle of Support, an honor roll featuring everyone who has donated during CASA of Southern Connecticut’s first year or so.
Engaging as a CASA is one proven way to help change a child’s story. Ultimately the goal is to identify a safe, permanent home where the child can thrive. The proven CASA model was praised by Nicholas Kristof in a November 2020 New York Times column; he wrote: “CASA…Volunteers provide support and advocacy for children who sometimes have no one else to trust.” (He included the CASA model among those endorsed at KristofImpact.org.)
Applications are available, with interviews currently conducted via Zoom. Contact CASA of Southern Connecticut about the opportunity to volunteer: volunteer@CASAsouthCT.org