Judge Meadows presented materials and an invitation to establish a Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program for White and Van Buren counties, saying the effort aims to match trained volunteers with children in foster care and improve permanency outcomes.

Judge Meadows described CASA volunteers as trained, background-checked community members who complete more than 30 hours of initial training and are assigned to children in foster cases to advocate for the child’s best interests. He said volunteers typically meet the child at least once a month, remain at court hearings, and communicate with caregivers, teachers, social workers and others involved in a child’s life.

On local counts, Judge Meadows stated that "as of last week" Van Buren County had about 83 children in foster care, of which he identified 19 as Van Buren County children; he told commissioners White County had 64 children in foster care, of which 20 were placed inside the county and 44 placed outside. Because those figures were presented conversationally, the article attributes them to Judge Meadows as stated and notes they were not independently verified at the meeting.

Judge Meadows asked commissioners and civic-minded residents to attend a kickoff/organizational meeting on Friday, Jan. 9, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Justice Center in the General Sessions courtroom; RSVP instructions were included in the packet he distributed. He said the program hopes to recruit retirees and others with flexible schedules, and noted a model from nearby counties where CASA volunteers helped children achieve permanency faster.