Program Notes: July 2022
There is not a single month that our Advocates are not visiting their CASA children, reaching out to relatives, communicating with caseworkers and attorneys, talking with teachers, meeting with children’s doctors, writing court reports, attending family meetings, and making recommendations for the child’s best interest in court.
So far this year, 238 Advocates have been working toward the best possible outcome for over 500 children in care in Montgomery County. As the Program Director, I am thankful for every one of you. I can’t wait to celebrate your commitment at the Volunteer Appreciation Event on July 10th at Rob Fleming Aquatic Center. What an incredible labor of love you give each month to these abused and neglected children. We could not serve 100 percent of the children in Montgomery County without each one of you.
Year-to-Date Program statistics
We’ve completed ten months of our Program Year, and the statistics and outcomes for this time period show the outstanding work of our Advocates:
- Over 150 new children have entered into the care of CPS in the past ten months.
- Over 500 children have been served by 238 amazing Advocates in the past ten months.
- Our Advocates have logged over 15,000 case hours in Optima and driven over 125,000 miles in their CASA work in the past ten months.
- Over 75 percent of the children in the cases closed over the past ten months have been placed with family—either reunified with one or both parents, placed in the custody of a family member, or adopted by a family member.
- 100 percent of the children in care in this county are being served by CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County.
Advocate Training Deadline August 31, 2022
Please remember that August 31st is the deadline for Advocates to clock their 12 hours of training for the year. Please check with your Supervisor to verify if you have your 12 hours documented in Optima. If you need more training hours, there are a number of things you can do to get these hours: attend in-service trainings, enroll in trainings online (Texas CASA College courses are available on the Texas CASA Website), watch a movie related to child welfare, read a book related to children in care, TBRI, etc. A list of all the ways you can obtain training hours is on our website. It is critical that every Advocate completes these hours by the end of August in order to remain an Advocate in good standing. Don’t stress—get with your Supervisor, and we will help you get these done!
If you ever have a question, please feel free to reach out to me. I wish you a wonderful summer and hopefully a break from the intense heat!
Sincerely,
Marilyn McQueeney, TBRI Practitioner
Program Director
EVERY CHILD DESERVES A CHANCE…IT’S YOU!
Learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer: VOLUNTEER or give online: DONATE.