{"id":33375,"date":"2024-07-02T15:59:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T15:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/?p=33375"},"modified":"2024-07-02T15:59:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T15:59:11","slug":"newly-trained-volunteers-take-oath-as-court-appointed-special-advocates-in-union-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/?p=33375","title":{"rendered":"Newly Trained Volunteers Take Oath as Court Appointed Special Advocates in Union County"},"content":{"rendered":"

Union County Superior Court Judge Rosalba Comas (left) with Elaine Anderson, CASA Volunteer & Summit resident.<\/em><\/p>\n

Six community volunteers will be sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates \u2013 known as CASA volunteers \u2013 to serve vulnerable Union County children living in foster care through no fault of their own.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit organization Child Focus operates CASA of Passaic and Union Counties, and its goal is to provide a CASA volunteer for each of the more than 250 child-victims in foster care. Currently, just 30 percent of vulnerable infants, children, and teens in Union County have the continuity and support of a CASA volunteer serving as extra eyes and ears for judges hearing their cases. There is a critical need for additional community volunteers to step up as this team of six have done, so more children can be served.<\/p>\n

Union County Superior Court Judge Rosalba Comas last week presided over the swearing-in of the newly trained volunteers, allowing each to then be assigned to foster youth and begin to advocate for their best interests and ensure their needs are met while in the child welfare system.<\/p>\n

Since caseworkers, attorneys, and foster homes are ever-changing, the CASA volunteer \u2013 or advocate \u2013 is a much-needed constant in a child\u2019s life, committing to work with the child until the case reaches permanency in a stable home and the case closes. Children assigned a CASA volunteer are more likely to receive services, spend less time in the foster system, and experience significantly better outcomes than those without an advocate. Those interested in becoming a volunteer advocate can sign up for an information session at\u00a0casapassaicunion.org\/info-session.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Newly-Trained Volunteers<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Elaine Anderson, CASA volunteer from Summit<\/p>\n

Loretta Gadson,\u00a0CASA volunteer from West Orange<\/p>\n

Christine\u00a0Larrabee,\u00a0CASA volunteer from Cranford<\/p>\n

Kathleen Oates-Nies,\u00a0CASA volunteer from Westfield<\/p>\n

Patience Opaola,\u00a0CASA volunteer from Linden<\/p>\n

Robert Tracy,\u00a0CASA volunteer from Cresskill<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a volunteer opportunity, CASA brings it all together for me. The organization allows me to have a meaningful impact on my local community with a purpose that I truly believe in. Every child deserves a chance,\u201d said Elaine Anderson,\u00a0CASA Volunteer & Summit resident.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are proud to welcome this new group of volunteers to the CASA family,\u201d\u00a0said Erica Fischer-Kaslander, Executive Director of Child Focus.\u00a0\u201cThese individuals have taken concrete action to make a difference in the lives of children who have experienced immense trauma, having been removed from home through no fault of their own, often due to abuse or neglect. We look forward to working with our new advocates as they serve these vulnerable youth and urge more community members to follow their example by volunteering to support children in need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Union County Superior Court Judge Rosalba Comas\u00a0expressed her gratitude for the CASA program and the volunteers\u2019 commitment to the children they serve:\u00a0\u201cIf I really want to know what\u2019s happening with a child, I listen to the CASA worker, because they are 100% in tune with everything that the child needs, and everything that\u2019s happening in the child\u2019s life,\u201d\u00a0Judge Comas shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir job is to look out for the kids and represent the children\u2019s interest and make sure that all of their needs are being addressed. It\u2019s not just whether they need clothes or whether they need toys, it\u2019s the bond. It\u2019s what they need emotionally, it\u2019s someone they can count on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Union County Superior Court Judge Rosalba Comas (left) with Elaine Anderson, CASA Volunteer & Summit resident. Six community volunteers will be sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates \u2013 known as CASA volunteers \u2013 to serve vulnerable Union County children living in foster care through no fault of their own. The nonprofit organization Child Focus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"post_flags":[],"class_list":["post-33375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summitchatham-local"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33378,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33375\/revisions\/33378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33375"},{"taxonomy":"post_flag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.localmedianj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_flags&post=33375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}