Life-changing
CASA offering virtual training for advocates
Genney Baker moved from the state of Washington to Arkansas 20 years ago after her husband, Jason, got a job working for Arkansas Nuclear One, the nuclear power plant in Russellville.
Not knowing anyone or having any family in the area, she saw an advertisement for the local Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, of the 5th Judicial District and thought it would be a great way to get involved. She applied to be a volunteer, and in 2007, Baker became CASA’s executive director.
“I had never heard of CASA or knew what it was before I moved to Arkansas, and this is an amazing program to be a part of,” Baker said. “We get to see our volunteers make a life-changing difference for these kids.
“They go from a horrible situation to having hope back in their lives. My heart belongs to the program.”
According to its website, www.arcasa5.org, the mission of CASA “is to provide abused, neglected and dependent children a voice in the court process in order for these children to find a safe, permanent home as quickly as possible.”
“The main thing that stood out to me is how hard [the Department of Human Services] worked and their extreme case load,” Baker said. “A CASA volunteer only has about one or two cases, but a DHS worker can have up to 30 or more.
“As volunteers, we get to really know these kids and be a constant for them. It’s beneficial because we are a familiar face during a journey that most adults would not want to go through.”
CASA of the 5th Judicial District, which covers Pope, Johnson and Franklin counties, currently serves about 91 foster children in the three counties. CASA currently has about 72 advocates, and Baker said the goal is to have one advocate for every foster child.
To help meet the goal, CASA is offering free virtual training for volunteers. The training takes about five weeks, with the first class concluding about two weeks ago. Bethany Bratton, the resource coordinator
for CASA, said classes meet once a week via Zoom.
“I think everyone has really appreciated that they can sign up to be a volunteer and still stay very safe — it is very COVID-19 friendly,” Bratton said. “And they can participate in something that they may not have known about before.”
The next session is scheduled to begin July 30 and last until Aug. 27, with each Zoom meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m on Thursday nights Those who want to participate can go to arcasa5.org and click the “Apply Now” tab to submit an application to become an advocate for children.
“We actually had 12 people sign up to take the class, and that’s about average,” Bratton said. “Usually, training takes about eight weeks, so this one goes a little faster, but the content is amazing, and the volunteers can work at their pace.”
She said she is also always available via text or email if the volunteers have questions. She said the virtual training has gone so well that CASA plans to stick with this model and offer the online training, in addition to in-person training, once it is available.
Bratton said volunteers from the initial class have already been sworn in by the judge and have been assigned cases, which has been helpful. Baker said advocates are meeting with the children but are doing it safely.
“We might sit a few feet apart in the front yard or host meetings via Zoom,” Baker said. “It is more challenging to do the work, but our advocates are still doing it.
“Our judge has resumed some in-court meetings but, as of right now, doesn’t allow more than 10 people into the courtroom. I would estimate about 30 percent of our cases are being held in-person, and the rest are being done over Zoom.”
Baker is not sure if the number of volunteers for CASA has increased as a result of the virtual training because there has only been one session so far.
“But we are very happy with the numbers we do have because we are still able to serve every child at this time,” she said.
CASA is located in the Central Presbyterian Church, 400 W. Main St. in Russellville. For more information, call (479) 880-1195.