Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc. has been awarded a $34,000 Core Model Grant from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Association for Children. Funds will be used to recruit, train and assign new volunteers to represent the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Work done under the mentoring grant will target key populations such as American Indian/Alaska Native, rural and opioid-impacted youth.
There are nearly 950 CASA/GAL programs nationwide, including 49 state offices, supporting volunteers who work on behalf of children in the child welfare system. Their advocacy enables judges to make the most well-informed decisions for each child.
The mentoring grant will enable Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc. to focus on advocating for the needs of at-risk and underserved youth. Volunteers will also mentor youth, helping them increase their level of connectivity with community and family, improve educational outcomes, and reach stable placements.
“On behalf of all of us at Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc. we are overjoyed to have been selected as a National CASA/GAL Association for Children grant recipient. This support is a resounding testament to the work our CASA volunteers do on a daily basis to help abused and neglected children. Over the past 16 years, I have been privileged to witness the remarkable ways that CASA volunteers impact the lives of the most vulnerable children in our community. These children come to us wounded, but they cling to their hopes and dreams. It is our job to watch over them while in foster care, to make sure all that can be done is done, to help them flourish while a safe, loving and forever home is found. We would not be able to continue our work without the support from our generous contributors.
It is critical that children in care have a voice within the system – someone with the best interests of the child in mind – and someone to speak up on behalf of the child. That’s what CASA does. CASA makes a difference every day, one child at a time, one life at a time, one future at a time.” said Rebecca Tingle, Executive Director of Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc.
The federal grant funds distributed through National CASA/GAL are provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US Department of Justice, as authorized under the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. In 2019, National CASA/GAL was awarded nearly $7 million in federal grants.
