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Volunteering > Volunteering for MHA of Westchester

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Volunteers

All children deserve a loving, permanent home, but not all children are fortunate enough to have one. Many are abused, neglected or abandoned and must rely on Family Court for foster care placement. Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers advocate for the child’s educational, mental health, and physical health while placed in foster care, until a permanent home can be secured.

Is It for Me?

If you are a citizen at least 21 years of age, have a strong desire to help children, have a rapport with youngsters, are willing to remain on a case until it is permanently resolved and can commit to 36 hours of initial training, this may be the right opportunity for you.

To learn more about becoming a CASA Volunteer, call Jackie Boissonnault, Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates, 914-345-3993, extension 208, or contact our Information and Referral Service at 914-345-5900, extension 240, or e-mail us at help@mhawestchester.org.

Our CASA group is part of a national network. For more information about this network, visit the National CASA Association web site at http://www.casanet.org or CASA: Advocates for the Children of New York State at http://www.casanys.org.

What We Deliver

In your 36-hour training, you will learn how to:

Investigate all aspects of a case
Recommend a course of action
Facilitate the resolution of the problem
Monitor progress toward established goals

You will become knowledgeable about:

Westchester Department of Social Services
Child Protective Services and Family Court proceedings
Neglect and Abuse petitions and proceedings
Foster Care regulations
Adoption proceedings
Education laws

At the end of training, you will take an oath of confidentiality at a swearing-in by the presiding Family Court judge.

For the child, you will:

Represent the best interests of this young person
Collect independent information for the Family Court to increase the Court’s ability to move children from temporary foster homes to permanent families
Establish and maintain contact with service providers involved with the child and family to monitor compliance with Court orders
Provide the Court with a detailed written report prior to any Court hearings

A volunteer is usually assigned one case at a time, involving several hours each month.

Where

Volunteers meet with the child, biological and foster parents, caseworkers, and all parties involved with the child. They see their child in the child’s own environment at least once a month, usually at school or in their foster home. Volunteers are at the court house only when their case is being heard. This could be once a month or once a year, depending on the status of the case. All interactions are within Westchester County.

After initial meetings, CASA volunteers do most of their work on the phone.

CASA volunteers work in the White Plains and Yonkers Family Courts, though most cases are heard at the White Plains Family Court:

111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, 6th Floor
White Plains, NY 10601

The Yonkers Family Court is located at:

53 South Broadway
Yonkers, NY 10701

Training is conducted at:

2269 Saw Mill River Road, Building 1A
Elmsford, NY 10523

Click here for How Can I Get Here?

When

Except for an occasional telephone call, most CASA business is conducted during the usual business hours. All Family Court hearings are held Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.

Cost

CASA is a free service to children in foster care.

Volunteers incur travel and telephone expenses that are not reimbursed, but they are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Staff/Service Providers

The Program Director is a master’s level social worker and is responsible for all program services. Supervisors with experience volunteering for CASA assist more than forty volunteers with their assigned cases.

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