Advocacy Center Seeks Volunteers
Program needs about 40 people to represent a child in court.
By Stump Martin-Staff Writer, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Nov. 27, 2005

Volunteers who will stand up for a child in court are needed in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Curcuit, according to Children's Advocacy Center officials. Carleena Angwin is the director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates program at the Advocacy Center in Fort Oglethorpe. The center covers the Lookout Mountain Circuit's counties of Walker, Catoosa, Dade and Chattooga.

"We're recruiting people in the community who are passionate about helping improve the lives of children in Northwest Georgia," Ms. Angwin said. She said CASA is a national program in which volunteers watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children.

"The volunteer's job is to make sure that the children don't get lost in the overburdened legal system or fade away in a group or foster home," Ms. Angwin said. "The volunteer stays with the case until it is closed, and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home."

Ms. Angwin said she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama and speaks fluent Spanish. She worked with at-risk youth in Panama for 2 1/2 years, and also taught English at a University in Mexico near Guatemala.

She said in many cases, the CASA volunteer will be the one adult who cares only for the child. Ms. Angwin said hundreds of abused and neglected children in Northwest Georgia are placed in foster care each year because they are unable to live safely at home.

"Imagine that you were to lose your parents, not because of something you did, but because they can't or won't take care of you," she said. "Into these children's lives come dozens of strangers, like police, foster parents, therapist, social workers, judges and lawyers."

She said the Advocacy Center wants one of those strangers to be a CASA volunteer.
Walker County Detective Caroline Cobb is one of the most experienced and respected child abuse investigators in the state. She said she is a strong supporter of the CASA program

"The children who are in juvenile court need a voice that will be heard,"

she said. "The voice will be in a professional capacity, but also on a personal level."Ms. Cobb said the children need someone to talk to who will listen and present these isssues to the courts and the judge.

"Children need people on their level," Detective Cobb said. "CASA will see that these children will not fall through the judicial cracks."Juvenile Judge F. Bryant Henry Jr. said the children in the legal custody of the state's Department of Family and Children Services are very fortunate to have CASA volunteers to advocate for their best interest.

" It is critical that the emotional health and welfare of each child is monitored and addressed while the child is in foster care," he said. "CASA volunteers are dedicated to making sure that the Court, and all parties are aware of the special needs of each child, and to insuring that those needs are met in a timely manner."

Ms. Angwin said that she is seeking more than 40 CASA volunteers who begin training in late January.
She said the volunteers research cases and learn everything about the child's special situation. She said they may talk to parents, grandparents, school teachers, coaches or any others who know and come into contact with the child.

"Then they present the findings to a court judge on the child's best interest," she said. "It's very important for kids to have representation in court. Kids are abused and neglected and put in the court system. They can't say this is what's happening at home, and this is where I feel safe."

Ms. Angwin said more that 200 incidents of child abuse and neglect are reported daily and every 15 minutes, a child is the victim of confirmed abuse or neglect.