TARRANT COUNT (1080 KRLD)- Court Appointed Special Advocates of Tarrant County is in desperate need of more male volunteers to work with some of the most vulnerable children in the county.
CASA of Tarrant County is a non-profit organization that trains community volunteers to serve as court-appointed advocates for children in foster care (kids who have been abused or neglected).
"In the foster care system about half of the kids are boys and half the kids are girls. Probably 85% of our volunteers are females." says CASA CEO, Don Binnicker. "A lot of these kids haven't grown up with positive male role models. So we need some males that can give these kids positive male role models."
No special skills or education are required to become a CASA - all that's needed is a willingness to learn and to give your time, and a heart to help vulnerable kids.
"Typically it takes about 10-15 hours a month," says Binnicker. "They can do a lot of work by email with a lot of phone contacts. We do ask that they see the kids face-to-face in their foster home to make sure it's a safe environment there."
More than 400 Tarrant County community members are currently serving as advocates, but that's not enough volunteers to meet the demand.
To address this need, CASA is holding special volunteer information sessions for men on Oct. 19 and 22.
To learn more about what it takes to become a CASA Advocate, go here.
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