January is National Mentoring Month, and we’d like to take this opportunity to highlight an important distinction: the difference between a mentor and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Volunteer mentors provide guidance, advice, and a positive influence to youth … Continue reading
Challenging Behaviors: What Children Are Telling Us
Written by Madison Pope, Senior Advocacy Liaison, and Suzanne Severance, Senior Advocacy Supervisor Our core values at Voices for Children begin with, “We cherish children and put them first, always.” The volunteers who choose to serve as Court Appointed Special … Continue reading
History of Voices for Children – Founding and Milestones
In 1980, Kathryn F. Ashworth, Esq., and Elizabeth Brainard Bacon discovered a recently developed, volunteer-based model of supporting children in foster care and, using that framework, co-founded Voices for Children (VFC). With the start of a new fiscal year this … Continue reading
History of Foster Care
Every year, thousands of children in the United States enter the juvenile dependency system, also known as foster care, after experiencing abuse, abandonment or neglect. The name “juvenile dependency” stems from the fact that youth in foster care are considered … Continue reading
Difference Between A CASA And A Social Worker
Written by Brianna Miller, Asst. Program Mgr., Riverside County When describing what a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is to friends and family, I am often met with, “Isn’t that what a social worker does?” At first glance, there … Continue reading