Twenty four new CASA volunteers sworn in on Tuesday
November 14, 2019 (Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Twenty-four community volunteers were sworn in as officers of the court by Chief 4th Judicial District Court Judge William Bain during a CASA of the Pikes Peak Region swearing-in ceremony at the El Paso County Combined Courts on Tuesday.
These community volunteers just completed a two-week training course that covered topics like trauma, resiliency, poverty, mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, the role of a CASA volunteer or SEPT facilitator, and more. The swearing-in ceremony was the final step for these community members to become either Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) or Supervised Exchange and Parenting Time (SEPT) facilitators.
Fourteen volunteers were sworn in as CASAs and are about to embark upon the important work of advocating for children who have become caught up in the court system after being removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.
Ten were sworn in as SEPT facilitators and they are now eligible to supervise court-ordered visits between children and their non-custodial parents in the family visitation center at the CASA office.
TOP PHOTO: Advocates pictured from top left: Kellie Wolf, Trisha Buckett, Kim Skarns, Jessica Rogers, Rick Miller, Nancy Yerger, Steve South, Catherine Stamps, Judge Bain, Jade Najera, Molly Shepard, Marie Schrader, Cheryl Boys, Gary Boys, and Brooke Drake.
BOTTOM PHOTO: SEPT Facilitators pictured from top left: Samantha Taylor, Amanda Raslowsky, Kylie Warren, Nakisha Vega, Sheyenne Roberts, Judge Bain, Serene Walker, Andrea Schaus, Alex Ruiz, Kellie Wolf, Alex Hauser, and Bo Yun Pogrebinsky
Last year, CASA volunteers served 715 children in the Pikes Peak Region with Court Appointed Special Advocates and 167 children with SEPT facilitators.
To learn more about how you can become trained as a CASA volunteer, attend an upcoming CASA Volunteer Information Session. More information available here.
About CASA of the Pikes Peak Region
CASA of the Pikes Peak Region is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1989 as a local program of the National CASA Association. Serving El Paso and Teller Counties, the organization’s core mission is to recruit, train, and support citizen volunteers in its Dependency & Neglect program to provide a voice and advocate for victims of child abuse and neglect. The nonprofit also operates a Supervised Exchange & Parenting Time (SEPT) program, Milton Foster Children’s Fund (MFCF) & the Hanger, Life Long Links, and Children & Families in Transition. With nearly 400 volunteers who put in roughly 19,000 hours in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, CASA of the Pikes Peak Region provided advocates for 715 children and served more than 900 children through additional programming. For more information, visit www.casappr.org.