Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Baltimore welcomes 13 new volunteers this month. After 30 hours of training and approximately three hours of courtroom observation, all of the volunteers are now officially able to advocate for the best interests of abused or neglected children in foster care.
On June 30, 2014, Judge Robert Kershaw swore in the following individuals as CASA’s:
Walter Robinson of Pikesville
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Kimberly Herring of Park Heights
Caitlin Best of Riverside
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Jahaziel Perez of Cherry Hill
Crystal Allen of Belair-Edison
Anna Clark of Forest Hill
Cristopher Jones of Federal Hill
Claudette Royal of Pikesville
Adrian Brown of Belair-Edison
Shavonne Wilson of Gwynn Oak
Tierney Wilson of Northwood
Meghan Day of Glen Burnie
Yvette Winn of Baltimore City
This group of new CASA volunteers includes four students, two attorneys, a retiree, a hair stylist, a research associate, and an account manager.
No special background or career experience is required to become a CASA volunteer, but all volunteers must submit an application, provide references, be 18 years of age or older, go through a background check and complete training. After becoming a CASA, volunteers will continue to learn about advocacy and foster care through staff and training.
Over 6,000 children and young adults are currently in foster care in Baltimore City, yet only about 6% of them have a CASA on their case. More volunteers are needed to ensure that Baltimore’s foster youth have an advocate representing their best interests in the courtroom and beyond.
“We are pleased to welcome our new volunteers, and we look forward to recruiting and training more volunteers who will make a difference in a child's life,” says Evangula Brown, Senior Manager of Volunteer Recruitment and Training at CASA of Baltimore, Inc.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Baltimore, Inc. serves abused and neglected children by representing their voices in the Baltimore City court system and advocating for their best interests in the judicial, educational, medical and social service communities. The non-profit recruits, trains and supervises CASA’s to provide written, objective recommendations to the Court; to serve as a consistent adult presence, and to monitor that child's well-being. To be a voice for a child, learn more about volunteer opportunities with CASA of Baltimore, Inc at 410.244.1465 or visit www.casabalt.org.