BECOME A CASA VOLUNTEER

Nationally, CASA was established in 1977 by a Judge who recognized that he would like to get a third party objective view on what that person believed was happening in abused/neglected childrens lives. Locally, our office has been in business since 1986; serving the five counties in Northeast Indiana which includes Noble, LaGrange, Steuben, Dekalb and Whitley Counties. Our office is located at 116 W. Main St, Albion, In, 46701 and we can be reached at 1-260-636-6101.

CASA PROVIDES A VOICE FOR POWERLESS CHILDREN INVOLVED IN JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS; ADVOCATES FOR THEIR BEST INTEREST; AND STRIVES TO IMPROVE THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

Basically, that means that we try to be the eyes and ears for the Judge in cases of abuse and neglect, as well as some domestic types of cases such as custody disputes, visitation issues, and guardianships. We are here to represent the child in Court, and make sure that what we believe is in the childs best interest is voiced to the Court. This is done only after volunteers from the community collect information from the children themselves, the parents, counselors, teachers, family and children caseworkers, law enforcement, and anyone else that we believe could give us a better picture of what is happening in the childs life that we are representing. Many times both parents have attorneys to argue their case for them, the Department of Child Services has an attorney to argue their case for them, but there is no one in Court to argue what is best just for the Child. That is where the CASA volunteer comes in. The CASA volunteer tries to develop a trusting relationship with the children so that he/she will open up to the CASA, and hopefully let the CASA speak for him/her in Court. We dont always recommend what the child wants, but we will say what those wishes are. We do this in the form of a written report, which includes all the information that we have collected from the people we have talked with.

In that report, we will make recommendations to the Court as to what services we believe might be helpful for the child and the family including where we believe the child should live, possibly counseling services, educational needs, or even dental check ups. It can be anything that we believe will make the quality of life safer, better, and lead to a permanent solution for these children.

Volunteers initially go through 30 hours of training, and 12 hours per year of continued training.

If you have an interest in becoming a CASA volunteer, contact Kristi Bachman at our office at 1-260-636-6101.