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- CASA
recruits and trains members of the community to become Volunteer advocates
for children who are victims of abuse and neglect.
- We
have a 1:1 ratio; one volunteer to one family of children.
- Our
Volunteers monitor the child’s case to insure that
necessary services are being provided by the Department of
Human Services and other private service providers; the child does
not “slip through the crack”; there is a coordinated effort by service
provider agencies to secure a safe, stable, permanent placement in
the least time possible. This can mean reunifying the child with parents
if the problems that led to removal have been remedied.
If the problems continue to exist and the efforts of the parents
to not support reunification, then we work to insure that a positive
relative placement, foster placement, or adoptive placement is found
for the child.
- Our
Volunteers advocate that the child’s needs be identified and addressed
and not just swept under the rug in the name of economy.
- As Judge Steele, the Family Court Judge
on St. Croix notes during hearings, CASA is the only independent voice
in the proceedings. CASA’s
speak specifically for the needs of
the child. All
of the others involved in the system have some tie to the government
and are not completely independent like CASA.
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| WHO
DO WE SERVE? |
| We
exist to be the Voice of the Child.
In an often overwhelmed social service system and a busy Court
system, children too frequently slip through the cracks.
They can too easily become a file folder of paperwork.
We want them to be humanized to the “system” that is making life
affecting decisions on their behalf.
Children are our primary focus.
However, in serving children, we often find ourselves working
with the parents as well, to monitor their compliance with Ordered services.
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Our children are aged
one day old to eighteen years old.
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They are usually low income.
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Many are disabled.
The disability can be physical but more often is emotional/mental,
and includes about 65% special education students.
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| HOW
DO I BECOME A CASA VOLUNTEER?
|
| We
work with children and all of the personal information about the family
is confidential and protected by law, so we have a very strict screening
policy to insure the child’s safety and the family’s privacy.
Also, because we admire individuals interested in volunteering
and know that their time is precious, we want to be sure that volunteering
for CASA is a good fit for the prospective Volunteer.
Our process includes:
- Application and personal statement.
- Personal Interview.
- We will contact 3 persons named by you
to complete a personal reference form.
- Police background check.
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30 hours of pre-service
training.
- 12 hours annually of ongoing in-service
training.
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| |
| MEASURING
SUCCESS |
| We
measure our success by:
-
Recruitment:
the number of volunteers we recruit who successfully complete
the pre-service training and are invited to become a CASA
Volunteer on an assigned case.
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Retention of volunteers:
a minimum eighteen month commitment to serve as a Volunteer.
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Resolution of cases:
the role we play in bringing the case to a timely resolution
is evaluated to determine if CASA’s are making a difference in seeing
cases move more quickly to permanence for the children involved.
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| A
PHOTO OF CASA of the VI |
- 30 trained volunteers assigned to cases;
Diversity of volunteers: 7 men, 23 women; 5 Spanish speaking; 22 Black, 5 Hispanic,
and 3 White.
- 2 full time staff to support and supervise
volunteers; recruit and train volunteers; coordinate program development
and growth; and carry a small direct caseload.
- In progress:
development of a website at:
www.casavi.org
- Annual Fundraising Activity: Holiday Greeting Card Project – artwork designed and donated
by students throughout the Territory is used to create note cards
and holiday greeting cards.
Proceeds from sale are used to support CASA and our children
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| WHO
ARE OUR SUPPORTERS?
|
| Nationally:
- The
U.S. Department of Justice
- David
and Lucile Packard Foundation
- The
Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation
- The
National Council of Jewish Women
- The
Gerber Companies Foundation
- Dave
Thomas Foundation
- Microsoft
Foundation
- Continental
Airlines
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We also have strong support in organizations and prominent figures.
U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV:
“As chairman of the National Commission on Children, I have observed
judges in juvenile courts with a mere 10 to 15 minutes to decide whether
a child should remain in a distressed family or placed in foster care.
With growing caseloads, it’s increasingly difficult for the courts
and social workers to make the system work for families and children.
This is why CASA volunteers are so essential.
They provide valuable information and insight about individual
children. CASA deserves our admiration and support.”
Locally:
- Law Enforcement
Planning Commission (LEPC)
- Virgin Islands
Government
- Millenium Management,
LLC
- IFW St. Croix
Group, LLLP
- Communty Foundation
of the Virgin Islands
- Virgin Islands
Council of the Arts
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