CASA campaigns for minority volunteers

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Collin County joined a statewide campaign on Wednesday at a kick-off event to recruit African-American volunteers during Black History Month. The call to action hopes to raise awareness about the need for males and minorities to help abused and neglected children.

Texas CASA is reaching out to community leaders and churches statewide during the month of February to spread the word in hopes it can connect potential volunteers to the agency. Currently, 28 percent of the children served by CASA are African-American while only 8 percent of its volunteers are African-American. These children benefit from the one-on-one relationship with a supportive adult, even more so when that adult shares a similar cultural background as they do, said Susan Etheridge, executive director of CASA of Collin County.

"What we really like is to have our volunteers mirror our children in foster care who we are advocating for," Etheridge said. "Right now that is not happening. That's not to say an Anglo volunteer can't do a good job with an African-American child, but oftentimes it would be so important for the volunteer to be able to be that role model so [the child] can see somebody who looks like them who is doing well in life and is able to give. It's very encouraging for them."

CASA volunteer Kim Irvin is a "natural advocate" who has been a stable force for children in Collin County. Having worked on two cases so far, Irvin joined the initiative with the McKinney-based council, which partnered with members of the local faith community and political figures to launch the recruitment effort earmarked for potential African-American volunteers.

As an African-American who recently started working with CASA, Irvin said she has witnessed firsthand the benefit of aiding children from her own demographic and hopes more African-American men and women join the effort.

"Children are often shuffled from home to home in the foster care system and feel scared and alone," Irvin said at Wednesday's event at the African-American Museum in Dallas. "The CASA volunteer is often the one constant, caring adult in a child's life who advocates for the child's best interests and helps the child find a safe and loving home."

Texas CASA consists of 69 local CASA programs that recruit, train and supervise community volunteers who are court-appointed to represent the best interests of children in Child Protective Service's custody due to evidence of abuse or neglect. Each volunteer is appointed to advocate for one child or set of siblings so he or she can get to know the child or sibling group and what the children's current and future needs are.

Volunteers visit their appointed child regularly and monitor their progress throughout the case. They also play a pivotal role by conducting interviews with people who have been involved in the child's life and reviewing medical and education records to report back to the court.

Currently, CASA's advocates consist of roughly 80 percent Caucasian and 20 percent women. Texas CASA recently launched Coaches for CASA, an initiative targeting the recruitment of male volunteers, while another campaign aims to recruit those from the Latino community during Hispanic Heritage Month in September.

"There are easier volunteer opportunities," Etheridge said. "But you will never do anything more rewarding than changing a child's life forever."

For information on CASA of Collin County's volunteer opportunities, visit www.casaofcollincounty.org.

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