Want to do good in the local area and go beyond just writing a check, here's an opportunity to consider:
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and our charge this month is to promote awareness of the issue and challenge your readers to help break the cycle.
Approximately 10,000 children are under the protection of the courts today in Maryland as a result of abuse and neglect. Most are living in temporary foster care settings where they wait an average of three years before being placed in safe, permanent homes.
Rather than becoming discouraged by the seemingly overwhelming magnitude of the problem, I encourage the many readers who may be wondering how they can help local children to consider becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for a child.
CASA is a national network of organizations dedicated to ensuring victims of child abuse and neglect their right to grow up in safe, permanent homes. This mission is carried out through the work of trained volunteers who are appointed by the court to serve as advocates for children. There are 15 local CASA programs across the State of Maryland and more than 1,000 volunteers speak up for the best interests of children in the child welfare system.
There is a host of professionals - judges, lawyers, social workers, etc. - who play a vital role in the welfare of children but, with thousands of children under court protection in the State, the system is oftentimes reactive and crisis-driven, and the individual needs and rights of each child can become lost. As a result, too many children languish in foster care, sometimes bouncing from one home to another, changing schools and experiencing separations from siblings.
These children - like all children - deserve the chance to live in safe, loving and permanent homes. That is why CASA exists.
A child with a CASA volunteer by her side is half as likely to languish in foster care and much more likely to find a safe and permanent home. Currently, we can only support about 10 percent of children in the system but, with your help, we can and will do more. We must continue to do our part to ensure that every child in foster care has a committed CASA volunteer advocating for their needs.
Toward that end, we have set a goal to double the number of CASA volunteers in Maryland by 2020. Regardless of where you live in Maryland-there is a local CASA program nearby. Start right now by visiting www.marylandcasa.org or calling 888-833-CASA (2272) to find a CASA program near you and start to make a difference in the life of a child today. With your help, we can break the cycle of abuse and neglect for Maryland's children.
Join us in standing up for the rights of our children.
Zy Richardson
Public Relations Associate
Maryland CASA Association
www.marylandcasa.org
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and our charge this month is to promote awareness of the issue and challenge your readers to help break the cycle.
Approximately 10,000 children are under the protection of the courts today in Maryland as a result of abuse and neglect. Most are living in temporary foster care settings where they wait an average of three years before being placed in safe, permanent homes.
Rather than becoming discouraged by the seemingly overwhelming magnitude of the problem, I encourage the many readers who may be wondering how they can help local children to consider becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for a child.
CASA is a national network of organizations dedicated to ensuring victims of child abuse and neglect their right to grow up in safe, permanent homes. This mission is carried out through the work of trained volunteers who are appointed by the court to serve as advocates for children. There are 15 local CASA programs across the State of Maryland and more than 1,000 volunteers speak up for the best interests of children in the child welfare system.
There is a host of professionals - judges, lawyers, social workers, etc. - who play a vital role in the welfare of children but, with thousands of children under court protection in the State, the system is oftentimes reactive and crisis-driven, and the individual needs and rights of each child can become lost. As a result, too many children languish in foster care, sometimes bouncing from one home to another, changing schools and experiencing separations from siblings.
These children - like all children - deserve the chance to live in safe, loving and permanent homes. That is why CASA exists.
A child with a CASA volunteer by her side is half as likely to languish in foster care and much more likely to find a safe and permanent home. Currently, we can only support about 10 percent of children in the system but, with your help, we can and will do more. We must continue to do our part to ensure that every child in foster care has a committed CASA volunteer advocating for their needs.
Toward that end, we have set a goal to double the number of CASA volunteers in Maryland by 2020. Regardless of where you live in Maryland-there is a local CASA program nearby. Start right now by visiting www.marylandcasa.org or calling 888-833-CASA (2272) to find a CASA program near you and start to make a difference in the life of a child today. With your help, we can break the cycle of abuse and neglect for Maryland's children.
Join us in standing up for the rights of our children.
Zy Richardson
Public Relations Associate
Maryland CASA Association
www.marylandcasa.org
