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CASA of San Bernardino County highlights foster-youth mentoring, invites community to 'Have a Heart' event
Summary
Diane Smyers of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) told the Upland City Council that CASA volunteers provide one-on-one advocacy for children in foster care, cited local statistics and invited residents to a Feb. 1 'Have a Heart for Foster Youth' event at Magnolia Park.
Diane Smyers, representing CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of San Bernardino County, presented to the Upland City Council on Jan. 27 about CASA’s volunteer-based advocacy work for children in the foster care system and invited the public to the “Have a Heart for Foster Youth” event on Saturday, Feb. 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Magnolia Park.
Smyers told the council CASA recruits community volunteers who complete a professional background check and a 30-hour training program, take a confidentiality oath in juvenile court, and typically commit 10–12 hours per month for a minimum of 18 months. She said CASA volunteers have access to the same case records as judges, social workers and attorneys and participate in educational and health-care planning such as Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.
Smyers provided county- and city-level context: she said roughly 70,000 youth are in foster care across California and that CASA serves group homes and resource parents in the area; she reported “180 plus kids” living in Upland alone and said over 400 children were currently on CASA’s wait list. Smyers cited outcomes that CASA monitors: she said about 56% of foster youth nationally graduate from high school, and that 92–100% of CASA-represented youth graduate from high school (statistic presented by Smyers as CASA outcome data). She described the Have a Heart program — a community-driven Valentine’s Day card and gift-card distribution launched during the pandemic — and listed community partners supporting the event, including Life Bible Fellowship, Carl’s Jr., Dutch Bros., Chick-fil-A and Brewster’s.
Council members and staff thanked Smyers and discussed the local event logistics and volunteer needs; Council Member Maast (who the presenter identified as the event visionary) and other officials expressed support and noted participating businesses and volunteer opportunities. Smyers said volunteers often remain with children through aging out of foster care and that CASA’s work can reduce reliance on psychotropic medication as children get consistent advocacy and access to services.
Ending: Smyers invited residents to the Feb. 1 Have a Heart event at Magnolia Park and asked for continued volunteer recruitment and business participation to reduce the CASA wait list.
