Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Dallas CASA an advocate for children in foster care

By Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista

The month of April is associated with several observances: April Fool’s Day, Tax Day, Earth Day, etc. But one observance that actually lasts all month and is largely forgotten amid all the others is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Needless to say, it’s an observance that deserves to be in the forefront all year long. With these hard economic times, which triples the stress factors in families, it’s not surprising to hear reports that children bear the brunt of family frustrations.

In cases where the children’s physical and emotional well-being are at risk, the children are removed from their familiar environment and placed in a strange but safe alternative known as the foster care system.

For children, of any age, it’s traumatic enough to be removed from their parents but to be subjected to a court process on top of that can be too much for most children to handle. For that reason, Dallas Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASA was created to advocate for the child going through the court process.

Dallas CASA is a local chapter of the national non-profit CASA organization. It relies on volunteers to help them meet their commitment to being the “eyes and ears” of the court on behalf of the child. Yet, for one particular group of children, Dallas CASA is having a hard time fulfilling its mission.

In Dallas County alone, there are over 1,500 Latino children who have been removed from their families and placed in foster care. In other words, Latino children comprise 28 percent of the children in the foster care system. Yet, among the 350+ Dallas CASA volunteers there are only 35 Latino volunteers.

According to Beverly Levy, executive director of Dallas CASA, “Having a CASA volunteer whom the child can culturally identify with and speak the same language encourages them to freely communicate their needs, ultimately resulting in the successful placement of the child.”

Dallas CASA is desperate for more bilingual Latino volunteers to help meet the needs of these children. To learn more about how to volunteer to be a court advocate, visit the Dallas CASA website or call 214.827.9603, Ext. 273.

It’s bad enough that these children had to suffer at the hands of the adults in their lives whom they loved the most, but it’s worse for them to be ignored by a whole community who is known to place a high value on children and family.

Pegasus News content partner - Latina Lista

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• Hispanic / Latino > Latina Lista
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