Cobb CASA Program Coordinator Maricruz Garcia says there are approximately 100 abused and neglected children in Cobb waiting for a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) to be assigned to their case.
“Our program needs more volunteers to serve as the court’s eyes and ears for these children and to be the child’s voice in the courtroom,” Garcia said in a county statement.
Appointed by a judge, these trained CASA volunteers watch over and advocate for abused, neglected children until they are placed in permanent homes.
According to the Georgia Association for CASA, there currently are 21,000 children in foster care.
Of those, 9,700 children are waiting for CASA volunteers to help them find safe, loving permanent homes.
Georgia CASA officials state a child, who is appointed a CASA, is half as likely to remain in the foster care and child welfare system and much more likely to find a safe permanent home.
Cobb County CASA, a program of the Juvenile Court of Cobb County, is affiliated with Georgia CASA, Inc. and a member of the National CASA Association, Inc.
Volunteers: Cobb CASA at 770-528-2285 or casa@CobbCounty.org
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