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4 people are interested
Court Appointed Special Advocate for Kay County
ORGANIZATION: CASA for Kids
Please visit the new page to apply.
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4 people are interested
Change a child's story! CASA for Kids serving the children of Payne, Logan, and Kay Counties is seeking volunteers. Our next training classes begins in August. Fill out an application on our website to reserve your spot.
CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for children’s best interests. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is in a safe, permanent home.
Volunteers work with legal and child welfare professionals, educators and service providers to ensure that judges have all the information they need to make the most well-informed decisions for each child.
Our best-interest advocacy is driven by the guiding principle that children grow and develop best with their family of origin, if that can be safely achieved. Most of the children we work with are in foster care, but some are with their family of origin. And, most children who leave foster care do so to return to their family.
Children and youth who have experienced abuse or neglect are among the most vulnerable populations in America. A child in foster care may have faced physical, psychological or emotional trauma and years of uncertainty as they wait to go home, be adopted or simply see what happens next. All that chaos has long-term effects. Young people who have spent time in foster care are more likely to face incarceration, homelessness and unemployment. They are less likely to graduate high school and more likely to be victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
Having a caring, consistent adult to listen and put a child’s best interests before all others’ can make all the difference.
CASA volunteers are there to change lives at the most challenging time in a child’s life, and they do. Multiple studies have shown that children who have experienced abuse or neglect fare better with a CASA volunteer by their side.
More opportunities with CASA for Kids
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About CASA for Kids
Location:
315 West 6th, Suite 205, Stillwater, OK 74074, US
Mission Statement
CASA for Kids serving Payne, Logan, and Kay Counties is a nonprofit organization that recruits, screens, trains and supports community volunteers who advocate for the best interest of abused and neglected children in juvenile deprived court.
Description
When abused or neglected children enter into the juvenile court and foster care system, they do it virtually alone. In 1977, a Judge in Seattle, Washington, noticed that when he looked out over all the people presenting information to him when he heard a case of an abused child, one critical voice was missing. There was no one there whose sole focus was the best interests of the child. In times of fiscal constraints and agency politics, who better to get that information from than a trained community volunteer? Hence the birth of the CASA movement.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are community volunteers who represents the best interests of abused and neglected children who are wards of the juvenile court. After being screened and trained, a CASA is appointed to a child or sibling group. Through his or her court order, the CASA researches the case, talks to the child and involved parties and professionals, advocates for needed services and timely decisions, and submits written recommendations to the court.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
400 E. Central Ave., Suite 400Ponca City, OK 74601
DATE POSTED
July 1, 2023
SKILLS
GOOD FOR
N/A
REQUIREMENTS
- Driver's License Needed
- Background Check
- Orientation or Training
- Each CASA program determines the required length of a volunteer’s commitment – typically from 1 to 2 years. Since CASAs work with, and on behalf of, children it is important that they remained long enough to actually make a difference.
- Must be at least 21 years old. Must be able to pass a background check, confidential interview, and successfully complete training.