Thanks to Amanda Marshall, director of the Cobb County law library, for submitting the photos and information about Cobb CASA volunteers being honored by juvenile court judges last week. CASA volunteers are the court’s special-appointed special advocates, and the organization says its looking for more people like them to help out kids who’ve been abused and neglected:
Cobb Juvenile Court Judge Amber Patterson spoke to a group of volunteers at a dinner honoring Cobb County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) on Oct. 11 at 7pm.
Cobb Juvenile Court JudgeWayne Grannis, and Judge-Elect Kareem West, also attended the event held to show appreciation to CASA Volunteers for their time and dedication to youth in our community.
The event, held at The Conservatory in downtown Acworth, was put together by the CASA Advisory Council. The council is comprised of volunteer members from the community who gain support for the Cobb CASA program by promoting the program in the community, and raising funds. A CASA is a trained volunteer, appointed by a judge, who watches over and advocates for abused and neglected children. CASA volunteers make sure children don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system, and remain on the case until the child is placed in a permanent home.
Judge Patterson, who served as a CASA in law school, recalled her first appointment as a CASA during her speech to volunteers. She related with many of the struggles and triumphs CASA volunteers face during their service. “I remember my very first case, his name was Billy, and he was five,” stated Patterson. “He didn’t choose this life for himself, these were the cards he was dealt.”
After years spent advocating for Billy and trying to find him a permanent home, Billy was placed back into the child welfare system. Patterson recalled a conversation she had with Billy’s previous foster mother. “He doesn’t know anyone, all of these people are strangers to him, he has no one,” said Patterson.
Then the foster mother responded with a powerful message that stayed with her, “He has YOU.” Patterson told volunteers it was at that point her mission as a CASA became clear. “Children like Billy, need a YOU,” Patterson claimed. She continued, “They need someone they can count on, even when the outcome you hope for doesn’t always come to fruition.”
According to the Georgia Association for CASA, there are currently 21,000 children in foster care, and of those, 9,700 children are waiting for a CASA to help them find a safe and loving permanent home. GA CASA states a child who is appointed a CASA is half as likely to languish in the foster care and child welfare system, and that much more likely to find a safe permanent home.
Maricruz Garcia, Cobb CASA Program Coordinator, says there are approximately 100 children in Cobb waiting for a CASA to be assigned to their case. Because there are not enough CASA volunteers to represent all of the children in care, judges typically assign CASA volunteers to their most difficult cases.
“Our program needs more volunteers to serve as the court’s eyes and ears for these children, and to be the child’s voice in the courtroom,” stated Garcia. Garcia urges individuals interested in advocating for abused/neglected children in our community to contact Cobb CASA at casa@cobbcounty.org or by phone at 770-528-2285.
The Juvenile Court of Cobb County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program provides thoroughly screened, expertly trained, and fully supervised community-based, citizen volunteers to advocate for the best interests of children involved in juvenile court dependency proceedings.
Cobb County Court Appointed Special Advocates speak up for the needs and basic human rights of child victims of abuse and neglect, one child at a time. Cobb County CASA is a program of the Juvenile Court of Cobb County, affiliated with Georgia CASA, Inc., and a member of the National CASA Association, Inc.
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