A local group advocating for children in judicial proceedings recently received an unprecedented donation from a lawyer who has worked his fair share of court cases — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
The Athens County Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Program was awarded $16,620 by the Ohio CASA Association, according to a CASA news release, though funding came from DeWine’s office.
The program accepted the first half of the allocation last week and will receive the remainder upon successful completion of a six-month progress review, the release said.
“This is the first time that we have received an award like this. We are largely funded by Athens County Juvenile Court, which covers most day-to-day operational costs.” said Jenny Stotts, the local group’s executive director, who also studied at Ohio University.
Although it’s rare for the group to get large donations funded through the state, Stotts said, advocates are familiar with getting some help here and there.
“We have also been supported by area organizations, as well,” Stotts said. “Many local businesses and organizations regularly sponsor our events, and we recently received a small grant from the Child Conservation League Fund of the Athens Foundation.”
DeWine’s financial aid will prop up a project to expand local operations. According to the group’s website, they have about 20 volunteers serving about 100 children in Athens. Stotts said she is the only local full-time employee, though she has a part-time volunteer coordinator.
Stotts said that coordinator’s “hours will be increasing as well by five to 10 hours per week. She will be able to spend more time supporting volunteers and monitoring cases, which will allow me to spend more time working on recruitment of new volunteers.”
The funding also comes as an initiative to increase caseload for groups throughout the state, according to the press release.
“We will continue to serve only Athens County children, however, we will be supporting neighboring counties as they develop new CASA programs,” Stotts said.
CASA serves as an objective third party to look out for the best interests of children involved in court cases, and essentially becomes the eyes and ears of the court outside of the courtroom, Stotts said.
“The CASA meets with the child and any important adults in the child’s life each month — usually several times per month,” she said. “The CASA helps the child understand what is happening and also reports about the child’s wishes to the Court.”
New volunteers must be 21-years-old or older, and undergo an application that includes an interview, reference review and background check, before they are invited to attend 32 hours of pre-service training, according to the release.
“The training is a combination of independent study, classroom work, shadowing and court observation. The training is comprehensive and includes all of the content required to be able to serve as a CASA including legal processes, child development, substance abuse, mental health, parenting and more,” Stotts said. “Pre-service starts in June, and we are accepting applications until May 23.”
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