CASA campaign in Kane remembers the forgotten

Every day, 850 children enter America's foster care system because of abuse or neglect. These children have the right to a safe, permanent home, but because the child welfare system is overburdened, their needs and best interests are easily overlooked. The issue of child abuse and neglect is rarely discussed until a tragedy occurs. In a sense, these children are forgotten.

National CASA, a network of more than 900 CASA programs nationwide, including CASA Kane County, is drawing attention to these children through their Forgotten Children Campaign. Every day this week, 850 life-size displays of foster children have been placed around the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. Each display holds a placard describing that child's situation and his or her hopes for the future.

The goal of this campaign is to put a face on foster care and encourage caring citizens to stand up for these children.

Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw have a long-standing interest in improving the lives of foster children. National CASA CEO Michael Piraino will appear on the Dr. Phil show today. During this show, Dr. Phil will make a $500,000 contribution to help kick-off the campaign. National CASA hopes to be able to provide a CASA volunteer to an additional 75,000 children. Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers are ordinary people who do extraordinary things for abused and neglected children. Candidates must complete 40 hours of training before being sworn in by the Juvenile Court judge. CASA volunteers donate between five and 10 hours each month. Their responsibilities include meeting monthly with the children on their case, attending meetings with the children's teachers, caseworkers and foster parents, and preparing a report for the judge prior to all court hearings.

CASA volunteers represent the child's best interests and needs to the court and provide consistency for the child during a difficult time.

Last year, the CASA Kane County program served 466 children. Help ensure that these children are not forgotten. For more information on becoming a CASA volunteer in Kane County, visit www.casakanecounty.org, or call (630) 232-4484. The next training class begins June 21.