CASA is the Court Appointed Special Advocate program that assists abused and neglected children locally in McDonough, Henderson, Warren, and Knox Counties. Currently 120 children are being served within the program and Executive Director Kelly Corbin shares the platform is very beneficial:
“There are a lot of good statistics. A child with a CASA spends on average eight months less time in foster care. They are less likely to reenter foster care. They are more likely to find a permanent safe home. They are more likely to do well in school and graduate; just so many different benefits you wouldn’t think of right off the bat but may come later. When they have a consistent, safe, solid, loving adult in their life that is focused just solely on them to help them and provide best interest advocacy, it makes a whole lot of difference.”
The next training session to become a CASA volunteer will begin in January and will run for five weeks. Sessions are held weekly via Zoom. More details can be found online at https://www.casaofwestcentralillinois.org/.