Volunteer Advocate for Teens in Foster Care

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Every year approximately 25,000 young people age of the foster care system with little or no adult support. Aging out of foster care without a life plan, without a permanent place to live, without a job places these young people at great risk. These risks include homelessness, unemployment, substance abuse, criminal involvement and Mental health issues.

CASA of Union County is actively recruiting volunteers as part of our Fostering Futures project to become advocate/mentors for older foster youth. These volunteers will work with the young people and help them transition out of the system and ensure that they have the life skills and plans they need to have a safe, stable and successful future.

As trained advocate/mentors, CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to be a voice for these children in court. As their advocate, you will be the voice for the young person in court, making sure that the judge knows what is in the young person's best interests. As their mentor you will work with the young person to help them make the best decisions and plans for their futures.

The result is that the young person is more likely to achieve positive outcomes after they leave foster care.

CASA of Union County is currently recruiting for our Spring 2017 class of volunteers. These volunteers will receive intensive training to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate their way through the court and child welfare systems. They will learn how to advocate for the best interest of the young people they are working with and make sure that they receive the services and assistance necessary to lead successful adult lives. A CASA volunteer is paired with one child or sibling set and stays on the case until the young person leaves the system.

Please note: No legal or social service experience is required, but you must be 21 years of age. The CASA training is approximately thirty hours, with an additional 8 hour training to work specifically with young people between the ages of 14 and 21. The volunteer is required to make an 18 month commitment. By law, volunteers must have a full criminal background check and fingerprint check, as well as a screening interview before beginning training.

We are especially in need of bilingual - particularly Spanish-speaking - volunteers.

Information about upcoming info sessions and the training schedule are available on our website: www.casaofunioncounty.org. Or you can reach out to Courtney at cgreen@casaofunioncounty.org to find out how you can get involved.