CASA for Children recruiting volunteers

CASA for Children is having volunteer information sessions at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. today at the CASA office, 1201 Main St., Texarkana, Texas.
CASA program volunteers collaborate with the Department of Family and Protective Services, Child Protective Services and other key advocates in the child welfare system to ensure that children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.
Volunteers are appointed to advocate for children's best interests in court. They come from all walks of life and backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common-a passion for helping children. They get to know the child personally and speak with everyone involved in the child's life so that they can make well-informed and holistic
placement recommendations to the court. The CASA for Children program recruits, screens and trains these volunteers.
Last year, 79 CASA volunteers served 353 children in the child welfare system in Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas, but an additional 225 children needed a volunteer to advocate for their best interests.
When possible, CASA volunteers advocate for reunification with the child's immediate family, but when reunification is not an option, they work with state agencies to find the child a caring adoptive home, said Danita Abernathy, CASA executive director.
"We dream of a day when CASA is no longer needed because every child has the forever home they deserve," Abernathy said. "But until then, CASA for Children will continue to work tirelessly to
create a better future for children in the child welfare system."
CASA for Children is having volunteer information sessions at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. the first and fourth Tuesday of every month, and at 10 a.m.
the third Saturday of every month.
For more information, visit becomeacasa.org or casatexarkana.org or call 903-792-1030.