CASA: FYI 1|7|2020

Soroptimist International of Vacaville meets weekly, and during some of those meetings we have guest speakers. A Big Thank You to Candy Pierce, Executive Director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for her wonderful presentation about the work CASA volunteers are doing to make a difference in the lives of foster children in our county.

Candy provided a brief history of the origins of CASA in the country and told us that 10 years ago Solano County hired her in a temporary position to get the program started here.  Now 10 years later she shared many wonderful stories about how these volunteers affect the lives of foster children.  What CASA needs now is more volunteers especially male volunteers.

To become a volunteer one must complete 40 hours of training and undergo a thorough background check. Also the volunteer must agree to see his/her assigned child for 3 hours every week and make a 2 year commitment.  She also mentioned that once all the training is completed the volunteer takes an oath administered by a judge and becomes an officer of the court with a court order that permits the volunteer to meet with any person who interacts with the child and report their observations back to the judge.

Candy also stated that they have just received a grant to add a Community Outreach Person to their team to help educate the community about the purpose and work of CASA.