Weekly Meeting 6-22-2022

BRIGHTSIDE ADVOCACY

About the Savannah/Chatham CASA Movement
Since 1991, Savannah/Chatham CASA prides itself on recruiting, training, screening, and supervising volunteers to provide individualized advocacy for children who have experienced abuse and neglect. CASA volunteers provide a “voice” for children by collecting and delivering objective information to the judges of the Juvenile Court. Trained CASA volunteers and staff work to understand the needs of the children and ensure that the child’s voice is heard and represented in the court system. Moreover, CASA respects the right for a child to remain associated with their families and other familiar relationships in their lives.

Savannah/Chatham CASA is proudly financially supported by the Georgia Department of Human Services, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Chatham County, Bank of America, United Way of the Coastal Empire, National CASA, Georgia CASA and other direct public support.

The Children We Serve
Each year, hundreds of children in Chatham County experience child abuse and neglect. Once, Child Protective Services (CPS) confirms abuse and/or neglect, it takes legal responsibility for the child and places them in foster home or other facility. Due to the limited number of foster families in Chatham County, children in foster care are sent to other counties and often separated from their siblings. Unfortunately, it is rare for children in foster care to stay in their own schools, daycares, or communities. CASA volunteers meet our in one of the most traumatic moments of their lives, when everything they have known is gone. Through no fault of their own, our children have become a part of an overburdened child welfare system. At CASA, we believe they deserve a voice in the courtroom and a CASA volunteer helps make that a reality.

Our Volunteers
Savannah/Chatham CASA has over 90 active volunteers who come from all walks of life. They span across socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender and age. Some are just beginning in the workforce while others are retired. Over half our volunteers work full-time and have families. Some have backgrounds in the criminal justice system, social work, or child welfare while other volunteers have no such experience at all. But there is one thing they ALL have in common: they have a heart for children in foster care who have experienced abuse and neglect.