Results Matter

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YWCA
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate)

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Lycoming County, in collaboration with other community agencies, is committed to providing trained volunteers to advocate in the best interest of abused and/or neglected children which will lead to placement in a safe, nurturing, permanent home.

This unique program addresses the community needs of children and youth, families or individuals in crisis by advocating for children that have been adjudicated dependent because of abuse and neglect and have been placed outside of their homes in foster care, a residential facility, or a kinship home.  Cases may involve children up to age 18, and due to the growing demand for a CASA volunteer to be appointed to a case, priority is given to the most severe cases of neglect and abuse that exist on our waiting list of children.  While CASA does not validate family income, based on the home environments, the children are from low income families. 

Recently, the CASA program has added a Volunteer Coordinator to their staff.  With the hire of this additional person, we will increase the number of children served, decrease the time a child spends in the system, increase the number of children who achieve permanency, and decrease the number of children who are subjected to abuse yet again.  This will be achieved by providing the following program assistance:  case management of CASA appointed cases, assisting with outreach and development activities, and assisting with the recruitment and training of new volunteers.  We anticipate serving 96 children this year and project 152 children to be served next year with this staff addition.

For more information:

www.ywcawilliamsport.org