Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Welfare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners hear CASA appeal to recruit volunteers for about 120 local foster children
Summary
Representatives of CASA told McDonald County commissioners that about 120 children in the county's foster system need advocates and asked the commission for help recruiting volunteers; volunteers are asked to spend a minimum of two hours per month with each child.
McDonald County commissioners on Jan. 8 heard from representatives of CASA, a nonprofit that assigns volunteer advocates to children in foster care, who urged the commission to help recruit volunteers.
Ellen Vogt and Jeff Sutherland told the panel that CASA has operated in Newton-McDonald County since 2009 and that there are currently about 120 children in McDonald County's foster care program. Vogt said a CASA volunteer is assigned to a child to “be a voice for that child” and that volunteers are required to spend a minimum of two hours per month with the child.
The presentation explained the volunteer time commitment and the advocacy role volunteers play in court and case planning for children. The commissioners — Presiding Commissioner Bryan Hall, Eastern Commissioner Jamey Cope and Western Commissioner Rick Lett — provided Vogt and Sutherland with several names and organizations to contact to expand recruitment.
The minutes do not record any formal action, funding commitment or vote on CASA from the commission. The item was recorded as part of general business and will be carried forward in the commission's records; the minutes note the body will reconvene Jan. 10, 2024.
