The CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Program in St. Joseph County is moving forward creatively in the era of COVID-19. A "virtual" swearing-in ceremony was held to get new volunteers into the program. The swearing-in ceremony would typical happen in person under more normal circumstances.
Read more about how the CASA Program is handling this below.
St Joseph County- The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program of St. Joseph County swore in their winter class via video conference Friday morning.. With the nation at a standstill due to COVID-19, the Winter training class was only two weeks away from their 8 week training program before they moved to online sessions. This morning 5 new volunteers were sworn in via a Zoom conference call with Judge Jason Cicowicz.
They were joined by Director Brenda Matuszkiewicz and Recruiter/Trainer Lety Stanton-Verduzco.
A CASA volunteer advocates for children who are involved in the juvenile court system as a
result of abuse and/or neglect. Volunteers investigate, negotiate, monitor and advocate for the best interest of the child. CASAs advise the St. Joseph County Probate Court by testifying at court hearings and by submitting thorough written reports.
CASAs come from a wide variety of professional and personal backgrounds and are guided
throughout the process by staff supervisors. CASAs bring their own unique perspectives to
their work as volunteers.
Last year, hundreds of children had a CASA who served as the child’s voice in court. Right
now, there are more children in need than CASA volunteers are available. We still have
210 children waiting for a CASA in St. Joseph County alone. The CASA Program of St. Joseph County is planning on starting their Spring training on April 28, but will be
prepared to make the training online if the Indiana ban for non-essential travel is not lifted
by then.
You can watch the video below of the "virtual" swearing-in ceremony as it was provided to the media by the CASA Program.
