Thank You, Donors!

THANK YOU to all our donors from January - March, including those who gave through our Luncheon & Fashion Show! 
Your support of Georgia CASA helps to provide comprehensive support services to our affiliate programs, enabling them to offer the highest quality of advocacy to dependent children. 
Calendar of Events 
   
April:
 
4/22:
(Stone Mountain, GA)

May:
 
5/2 - 4:
Council of Programs Meeting
(St. Simons, GA)
 
5/16 - 18:
Training of the Facilitator
(Macon, GA)
 
6/3:
Celebration of Excellence
 
6/13 - 15:
Volunteer Supervisor Training
(Macon, GA)
 
10/25 - 27:
(Augusta, GA)
Save the Date
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SPRING 2017
Diana Smith, National & Georgia CASA Volunteer of the Year
By Diana Smith, CASA Volunteer, Enotah CASA

As a former special education teacher, advocating for my kids was a daily thing. However, two experiences probably are responsible for my becoming a CASA volunteer. First is the day one of my little girls came in with cigarette burns on her arms. Of course, I called in a report. To this day, that image is still as clear as ever. I was not allowed to know what happened with the investigation, and I felt so helpless. Later, I received word that she had transferred. Now I know that it is likely she went into foster care or perhaps to live with a relative, but this child is in my heart and always will be.

The second experience that led me to becoming a CASA volunteer involved teaching at a migrant school where the children had many needs. Our outreach worker had a dream: to get healthcare for the children. My husband helped to build a no-questions-asked clinic. Doctors and nurses volunteered one day a month, and many of my kids saw a doctor for the first time in their lives. I learned through this experience that so much can be done if people work together.

This feeling of helplessness and the experience of seeing what people can do when they care probably sealed my desire to make a difference in the life of a child-and to me this is the single most important attribute for a CASA volunteer---to care enough to make a difference. Being a bit stubborn and refusing to give up also helps sometimes. We definitely aren't helpless, and good people coming together can change the life of a child for the better.

When I saw an article in the newspaper about the CASA program-or Guardian Ad Litem program as it's known in Florida-I immediately signed up for the training. I had one case before we moved to Georgia-a shaken baby case. I learned how sad and difficult situations are as the baby had irreparable and severe brain damage. I also saw how incredible people are when the foster parents adopted this baby, knowing that their lives would be forever impacted.

When we moved to Georgia, I joined the CASA program in the Enotah Judicial Circuit in 1999 and I feel so lucky to still be able to advocate for children. In all these years, I've had some amazing experiences---like the dad who did not know how to communicate what he wanted for his special needs child. He upset enough people to have been visited by the Secret Service and GBI. I was warned to go to the house with a policeman, but the caseworker and I soon realized he was truly just a dad fighting for his child-albeit not in the best way. After counseling and learning communication skills, I went with him to a school board meeting where he was able to express his concerns in a constructive way. DFCS stepped out and he became a member of the parent-teacher council at school.

Another amazing experience is the time a family with five children got evicted in January. One parent had gotten into drugs and the other parent had lost his job after being hurt at work. Finding temporary emergency shelter for the whole family was not easy. A home was found in another county, but there was one bed, a couch, no linens and no pots or pans. I got my friends and my church to help ASAP. We furnished the home with airbeds and everything else needed so the family could stay together. With the help of an attorney, the father got worker's compensation and eventually permanent housing was located. 

Perhaps the most satisfaction for me was being able to help a little one who had no expressive language. He had no hearing until at age four DFCS got him medical help and tubes in his ears. He started understanding receptive language, but had no words he could say. He was given a LAMP app on an iPad, which was literally as much a unique language as English or French. With this program, he could communicate his needs and wants. However, when he moved to his adoptive home in another county,  the LAMP program was unavailable. The adoptive mom was at a loss to understand what he needed. When I saw the Individualized Education Plan, I realized a substitute program was put in place of the LAMP program. I contacted his prior school and was told it was not an adequate substitute. I could not get the program through insurance, nor could it be copied onto another iPad. I couldn't communicate with the current school because of bureaucratic issues. I was out of ideas, so I decided to call the Georgia Department of Education in Atlanta. I said I was a CASA volunteer and needed their help. They got back to me and directed me to Georgia Tech, which has a Tools for Life program. The director of that program said he had a LAMP program that was already on an iPad and we could borrow it for the little boy. He said, "This child should have this immediately." Dmetria Gibson, Georgia CASA's Director of Education Advocacy, became involved and the child received the program. The director of technology in the child's new district (and who happened to know the director of Tools for Life) saw to it that the school district bought a LAMP app and was able to train the teachers. The little boy has been happily adopted. His new mom told me how proud she is of him and that he has been gaining vocabulary. He still has the LAMP app when needed.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing as a CASA volunteer is the need for more CASA volunteers and resources. Yet, seeing a child reunite with his family or if need be, a new forever home, is worth more than I can say. And figuring out a way to help make this happen is a feeling that is unlike any other I know. I am just one CASA volunteer among many who advocate everyday for our children. I am humbled to be able to do this work. I urge others to become involved in this incredible organization.  

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

By working together as a community, we can all play a part in building communities and building hope in children and families.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. During this month and throughout the year, CASA programs across the nation support children and families to reduce the cycle of child abuse and neglect.
You can play a part and support positive change in your community!

Georgia CASA Conference on April 22
It's almost here - the annual Georgia CASA Conference! Make sure you're a part of this event for great networking and learning opportunities for CASA volunteers, staff, board members and those in child welfare from all over Georgia. The conference will be held at the Atlanta Evergreen Marriott Conference Resort in Stone Mountain. The day includes over 20 workshops, the annual Awards of Excellence, the CASA Board Member Leadership Award and the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, recognizing the winner and nominees for the 2016 CASA Volunteer of the Year in Georgia. The luncheon's keynote speaker will be Suamhirs Piraino-Guzman. Click here for all the conference details and to register. (Registration closes after April 16.) 

Affiliate Program Highlights

Congratulations to Judge John Worcester who works in the CASA of the Appalachian Judicial Circuit area. He was awarded as Judge of the Year in March at the National CASA Conference! Read more about him here. You can also view photos from a reception in Seattle here.
 


Sue Lagermann of Floyd County CASA has written a children's book, Violet Daisy Flowers Becomes a Foster Kid, about Violet, an 8-year old child that enters foster care. She was taken from her home in a police car, separated from her sisters, taken to a group home and left without any answers. Her journey through foster care touches on some of the heartache, loneliness and challenges children face. Violet is able to experience love when she meets her CASA. Sue's inspiration for writing this book came from a CASA child served by Floyd County CASA, and the book is dedicated to the child.
 
 
 
Many CASA programs hold events in April as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month; below is a sampling:

CASA of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit will place pinwheels on lawns and big blue bows on downtown lamp posts in Atkinson, Berrien, Clinch, Cook and Lanier counties. Additionally, the 4th annual Child Abuse Awareness Walk will be held in Lanier County on April 29th.
 
Chattahoochee CASA will hold the 5th annual CASA Superhero 5K and 1K Fun Run in Columbus on April 29th.

Children's Voice: CASA (serving Douglas County) will plant a pinwheel garden.
 
SOWEGA CASA (headquartered in Americus) will host the 6th annual Prevent Child Abuse Symposium on April 6th, partnering with many local agencies to provide the training to CASA volunteers and others in the community.
Events Recap

CASA Day at the Capitol took place on February 7. Nearly 400 CASA staff, board members and volunteers from across the state gathered in Atlanta to ask state legislators for their continued support of the CASA organization in Georgia, as well as support for a state funding increase. The day included remarks by Rep. Erica Thomas, who was a former foster youth, and a thank you luncheon that was attended by about 60 legislators. We are pleased to announce that as a result of the CASA network's legislative advocacy efforts, a funding increase of $500,000 has been recommended for the CASA network! Click here to view photos from the event.

The Young Lawyer's Division of the State Bar of Georgia held its annual signature fundraiser on February 25. This year's fundraiser, Carnival for CASA, raised nearly $30,000 for Georgia CASA. Thank you to all who supported the event through sponsorships and/or attendance!





The 13th annual Georgia CASA Luncheon & Fashion Show event fundraiser was held on March 22 and raised over $65,000! The event honored Marie Hannon, a strong supporter of Georgia CASA over many years, with her service as a board member, her leadership for the Luncheon & Fashion Show event, and her service through Kappa Alpha Theta, whose national philanthropy is the CASA program. Judge Cliff Joliff, a retired juvenile court judge from Gainesville, was the keynote speaker. Models sported fashions from Tootsies and Guffey's, with Cheryl Preheim of 11Alive (WXIA-TV) as emcee. Several fabulous raffle prize packages were also part of the event. Click here to view photos from the event.
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