| Saline County CASA 102 S. Main PO Box 145 Benton, AR 72018 501-303-5703 salinecountycasa@sbcglobal.net |
FAQ For Volunteers The CASA Volunteers CASA is an acronym for Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASA volunteers are everyday people who care about kids. CASA volunteers come from all backgrounds. Many work full time. Some are students or retired. Most CASA volunteers work on one case at a time. No legal expertise is required. The CASA Volunteer’s Role A CASA volunteer provides a judge with carefully researched background of the child to help the court make a sound decision about the child’s future. Each home placement case is as unique as the child involved. The CASA volunteer must determine if it is in a child’s best interest to stay with his or her parents or guardians, be placed in foster care, or be freed for permanent adoption. The CASA volunteer makes a written recommendation to the judge who decides what is best to do. Once the judge has made his/her decision, CASA advocates follow through on the case to ensure that the child is receiving the services the court has ordered. What does it take to be a CASA volunteer? Commitment When you take on a case, you take on a child's future. Most programs ask a commitment of at least a year. Some cases last longer. The amount of time you give to a case will vary depending on the stage of the proceedings. Volunteers usually give an average of 10 hours per month. Objectivity The CASA volunteer role is to represent the "best interest" of the child. That may not always mean what the child wants. CASA volunteers must be able to talk to everyone involved in a case and remain objective in their recommendations. While they will establish a relationship with the child, the CASA volunteers' role is not to become a Big Brother or Sister to the child. What about training? CASA programs provide in depth training in these areas: the court process, child development, abuse and neglect, cultural competency, advocacy, interviewing techniques, HIV and other public health topics, etc. You will hear from judges, attorneys, social workers and other professionals in the field. Our CASA program requires and provides continuing in-service training of 12 hours per year to upgrade skills of all volunteers. National CASA has developed a 30-hour curriculum with accompanying materials, which our CASA program has adapted to our own local communities. A volunteer coordinator or program director is available to discuss your case, help with problems or concerns, provide you with materials to which our CASA program has adapted to our own local communities and make sure you get any legal support you need. How many cases on average does a CASA volunteer carry at a time? The number varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but an average caseload is one or two. How much time does it require? Each case is different. A CASA volunteer usually spends about 10 hours doing research and conducting interviews prior to the first court appearance. More complicated cases take longer. Once initiated into the system, volunteers work about 10-15 hours per month. Are you interested in volunteering? Click for more information. |
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