Obici Healthcare Foundation Awards Grant Funding
Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 18:20 - www.voicesforkidsofsv.org
When a CASA Volunteer takes the oath to speak for a child's best interest in court as a court appointed special advocate, their voice becomes a great influence on the delivery of services needed by the child assigned to them, as well as the child's family. They are able to determine the needs, identify services, and make recommendations to the court for the services needed. However, when Joyelle Saunders, Voices for Kids CASA Executive Director, gave a report card on the delivery of advocacy services for the past fiscal year, she reported a need for improvement. While the rate of accepted recommendations and implemented services was high, the number of services recommended compared to the needs identified by the program was average.
In the hopes of improving the advocacy skills of our volunteers, Voices for Kids CASA submitted a grant proposal and was awarded $21,500 from the Obici Healthcare Foundation. Funding will be used to train volunteers in assessing medical and mental health needs and familiarizing them with available community resources so that relevant recommendations for services can be made. Funds will also be used to train volunteer supervisors to aid in the supervision of special advocates.