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Council proclaims April child-abuse prevention month; CASA Sabine urges volunteers
Summary
Mayor Larry Spears Jr. proclaimed April 2026 as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. Cody Vasquez, executive director of CASA Sabine, reported county-level statistics and urged volunteer recruitment and attendance at an April 2 vigil.
The Orange City Council on March 24 proclaimed April as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month and recognized local partners working with children in foster care.
Mayor Larry Spears Jr. read the proclamation noting federal and state child-welfare concerns and local organizations involved in prevention and advocacy. Cody Vasquez, who introduced himself as executive director of CASA Sabine (Sabine Nations Region), thanked the council, cited data from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (staff and county breakdowns), and asked council and residents to encourage foster and adoptive parents and volunteer CASA advocates. Vasquez said CASA served 52 children in Orange County in the past year, took in 19 new children and closed 22 cases by reunification or adoption. He noted 251 confirmed victims in Orange County in the referenced federal fiscal year and encouraged attendance at an April 2 vigil at the Orange County Courthouse to remember children who die from abuse or neglect.
Mayor Spears and other council members thanked CASA for its work; the mayor called volunteers "angels" and urged continued community support.
