Child advocate program back in county

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A program that advocates for young victims of child abuse, neglect and other issues is coming back to Van Wert County and is looking for volunteers and funds to ensure the program will continue.

The CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program trains volunteers who are then assigned by the courts to represent and speak for children who have entered the judicial system due to dependency, neglect or abuse.

The program, which had formerly been in Van Wert County through the efforts of former Common Pleas Judge Perry Wise but was disbanded, will return locally next year under the aegis of CASA of Allen and Putnam Counties. That group was created in 2009 as a non-profit organization advocating for young victims of crime.

“CASA is dedicated to helping children who have been abused and-or neglected find safe and permanent homes,” said Dee Anne Hornung, a local CASA volunteer working to help start a new county CASA program.

The CASA group is in the process of recruiting volunteers for a local program. CASA volunteers come from a wide variety of professional, educational and ethnic backgrounds.

No special experience is required, and volunteers are selected on the basis of their objectivity, competence and commitment.

Once selected, CASA volunteers receive 40 hours of training, learning about the social service and juvenile court systems, and issues that include substance abuse, mental health and cultural diversity. Volunteers also learn about the special needs of children who involved in abuse and neglect cases.

“A CASA volunteer may spend approximately 20 hours the first month, once they are assigned a case,” Hornung said. “After the initial hearings, time spent on a case can be as little as 4-8 hours a month.”

CASA volunteers are assigned one case at a time and usually have no more than two cases ongoing simultaneously.

The CASA program is looking for mature, responsible adults who can talk to people who are in difficult and stressful situations, that have some time to commit and that care about children.

“Volunteers can be a great asset to CASA and the children of Van Wert County,” Hornung said.

In addition to recruiting volunteers, CASA is putting together a cookbook and, along with the YWCA of Van Wert County and its Summer Food Program participants, conducted a contest Wednesday and Thursday to create some drawings that will be used to illustrate the book.

Winners of the contest received a variety of gift certificates and coupons donated by area businesses.

For more information about CASA, how to become a volunteer or to make a donation, call Hornung at 419.232.4878