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Cobb County CASA seeks volunteers as nearly 500 children wait in foster care
Summary
Cobb County CASA officials say nearly 500 children are in foster care but the local CASA program can serve fewer than half; volunteers typically are assigned two children, meet monthly and report recommendations to the court.
Cobb County CASA is seeking volunteers to serve as court-appointed special advocates for children in foster care across Cobb County, saying nearly 500 children are currently in the system and the program can serve fewer than half of them.
The program’s work is aimed at giving each child a consistent adult advocate who meets monthly with children and contacts families, therapists and teachers before making recommendations to the court. Marie Cruz Garcia, who oversees the Cobb County CASA program, said staffing and volunteer shortages limit the program’s reach. "Nearly 500 children in Cobb County are in foster care, but CASA can only serve less than half of them due to a shortage of staff and volunteers," Garcia said.
Officer Josh Adams, who shared his own childhood experience in foster care during the outreach segment, said the presence of a consistent adult made a measurable difference in his life. "Basically, I'm in a foreign place. I'm in a home. I'm with people I've never seen before," Adams said when describing his early days in foster care. He said the volunteer who helped him — a court-appointed special advocate, or CASA — brought snacks, played games and helped with homework.
Volunteers are typically assigned two children and may work with ages ranging from newborns to 18-year-olds. They meet with those children each month and check in with families, therapists and teachers before sharing recommendations with the court. "Kinda realize that it's the small things that are a lot more impactful and and more common than sort of these, like, big dramatic moments," said John Alday, who has volunteered with the program for two years and is currently working with a teenager.
The program said its primary goal is to reunite children with their families when possible or to find another permanent home. The outreach segment concluded by directing interested people to the CASA program's online resources for information on how to volunteer and advocate for a child in foster care.
