May is National Foster Care Month, a month set aside to acknowledge foster parents, family members, volunteers, mentors, policymakers, child welfare professionals, and other members of the community who help children and youth in foster care find permanent homes and connections. During National Foster Care Month, we renew our commitment to ensuring a bright future for the more than 430,000
children and youth in foster care, and we celebrate all those who make a meaningful difference in their lives.
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Congratulations On Your New Forever Home!
Congratulations to Jeremiah Foster! Jeremiah was recently adopted by Trey and Chartice Foster. Thank you to Judge Jessie LeBlanc for officiating the adoption.
Congratulations to Madilynn and Kadin Stewart! Madilynn and Kadin were recently adopted after being in foster care for 3 years. Thank you to Judge Jeff Oglesbee for officiating the adoption.
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Child Advocacy Services CASA volunteers
helped 10 children find safe,
permanent homes in April.
Becoming a CASA volunteer is an investment of time, energy and heart.
As many volunteers have said of the children they worked with:
"It wasn't about what I gave them, it was what they showed me."
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CASA VOLUNTEER TRAININGS
St. John & St. Charles - July 24th.
Tangipahoa & St. Helena - July 23rd.
Livingston & Tangipahoa - May 21st.
Ascension, Assumption & St. James - May 22nd.
East & West Feliciana - TBD
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Thank You For Your Dedication and Commitment.
Happy Anniversary!
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Alena B. - 14 years
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Mary H. - 3 years |
Kriston P. - 2 years
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| Brian S. - 10 years |
Jennifer S. - 2 years |
Letitia W. - 2 years |
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Jada D. - 7 years
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Cynthia W. - 2 years |
Anne W. - 2 years
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| Mark S. - 6 years |
Mark D. - years |
Kayci K. - 1 year
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| Joy K .- 4 years |
Connie L. - 2 years |
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CONGRATULATIONS
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GEAUX BLUE for Kids!
Congratulations to Johnny Chauvin of Tangi 96.5 for receiving the Louisiana CASA Association's Professional Media of the Year 2017 award in recognition of his outstanding service and commitment. Johnny has welcomed Child Advocacy Services CASA on his show, "Johnny in the Morning," for nearly 20 years! Thank you, Johnny, for your continued dedication to CAS and services provided to children.
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Congratulations and Welcome To Our Newest CASA Advocates!
Claudia Jenkins,
Lillian Delapasse, and Kelli Eubanks are ready to be
powerful voices for children!
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Kristen Beard
Florida Parishes Volunteer Spotlight
Kristen Beard learned about kids in foster care when she started student teaching and saw the hurt in their lives as she continued as a teacher. She said she always saw children moving in and out of her classroom because of their time in foster care and really wanted to do something to help. Kristen is a former teacher at Holy Ghost School for 9 years. She started out teaching second grade and continued on as a resource teacher for special education students. Last year, she made the decision to spend more time at home with her two children. She is very proud to watch her children grow and is especially proud of her daughter who was recently awarded the Baton Rouge Diocese Student of the Year.
Kristen knew about the CASA program for nearly 10 years before, in the Fall of 2017, she found that she had the availability to commit to being a voice for a child. Kristen was assigned her first case in December 2017 and has had many different obstacles and complexities in working through the dynamics of her case. Above all, she has been able to build a rapport with her CASA child that has become very strong and has allowed Kristen to effectively advocate for her needs. As a CASA, Kristen has said that it's really nice to help someone who really doesn't have anyone else looking out for them. Though sometimes things can be challenging, she has said that the good outcomes far outweigh the challenges. Kristen believes that looking out for someone in need "will have a huge impact on your life in an amazing way."
Thank you, Kristen, for all of your hard work and dedication to making the life of a child one that is forever changed because of your presence and advocacy!
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June & Phil Matherne
River Parishes Volunteer Spotlight
June and Phil Matherne were sworn in as 40th JDC St. John Parish CASA volunteer advocates on October 4, 2017. The Mathernes advocate as a Co-CASA team. They are currently advocating for eight children and are assigned to two cases. The Mathernes are committed to fighting for what is best for the children they serve. When one of their children was moved 100 miles away, the advocates did not miss a beat! The Mathernes show true advocacy for the children in their court reports, as they have had to make some hard recommendations for their cases. Phil and June never miss a visit to see their CASA children and are star information gatherers. Their dedication and passion to helping children is inspiring!
June and Phil Matherne are natives of St. John Parish. They have been married for 53 years and have three sons. The Mathernes are proud grandparents of nine grandchildren. Phil is retired from Shell and June retired as a Legal Assistant for a Metairie law firm. They did volunteer work at a Jefferson Parish Playground for 17 years. During that time, the Mathernes were involved with children in the form of coaching as well as holding positions as President and other officers of the Kings Grant Booster Club. We are truly grateful for their service and commitment to helping children.
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Optima Refresher & Frequently Asked Questions
Most of you are pros at entering Contact Logs and we definitely use your Contact Logs to help develop Advocacy Plans for your cases and in helping you with finishing up court reports. The questions listed below are some questions that we get asked regularly, or things that make us have to deny contact logs, or contact you to fix prior to approval. Please take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions to refresh your Optima skills. We'd love to hear from you if you have questions that are not covered below. Please email your supervisor with any questions so those can be addressed at a future date.
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Remember to keep your CASA Volunteer file up-to-date with your current
auto insurance card, driver's license, and contact information.
And remember to visit your CASA child face-to-face at least
once a month.
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Upcoming Darkness to Light Training
Monday, May 21st
10:00 AM to Noon
Pennington Student Activity Center, Room 108
1350 N General Pershing St, Hammond, LA 70401
Cost: $10 per person
No pre-registration is required.
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Prevention Education training is offered to empower all adults to promote better safety and health of children and families. To see the full list of trainings offered and the description of each, click
here.
Members of the community and partner agencies located in the River Parishes can now request trainings using the Prevention Education Request Form found
here. Submit completed forms to Angela Golden via email or fax:
agolden@childadv.net
or 985-785-5395
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Plant. Protect. Prevent!
Thank you to everyone who helped "Spin Change for Children" during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April!
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Voices for Children Bowl Champions for the 3rd Consecutive Year
Gonzales Police Department and Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office
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Brave children tell their stories. Courageous adults help these children through their trauma and assist them in finding a safe future.
Buttons of Bravery represent the journey of one child for a year under the care of Child Advocacy Services.
Help hold them together through their experience by participating in the Buttons of Bravery Child Sponsorship Program.
Thank you to our new and/or continuing Button of Bravery Child Sponsors.
Crossroads Behavioral Health, LLC
Knights of Columbus Council 6389
Rotary Club of East Ascension
Dear Community Supporter,
With your help, CAS served 523 children with 212 volunteers through our CASA program in 2017. Of those children, 172 were placed in safe and permanent homes. Additionally, we performed 618 forensic interviews and provided 413 hours of counseling to over 95 children through our CAC program.
Child Advocacy Services, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. We appreciate your consideration to start or renew your child sponsorship for 2018. Please remember your contribution is tax-deductible.
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Be the thread of hope for a child!
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To report Child Abuse or
Neglect
, call:
1-855-4LA-KIDS
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