MORGANTOWN — Court Appointed Special Advocates for Kids is working hard to make sure kids in the court system in Monongalia and Preston counties have someone in their corner.
Kayla Benson, executive director of CASA for Kids, said it all starts with an application.
Those interested in being an advocate apply and then go through an extensive training process.
After background checks and eight different training sessions, the CASA volunteers are sworn in by Monongalia County Circuit Judge Phillip Gaujot.
The advocates then are assigned to specific cases and children.
“They’re dealing with such confidential, sensitive information, that it’s a really important piece of it. That they understand kind of how the system works and understanding the importance of confidentiality,” Benson said.
Understanding what the children are going through is a large part of being an advocate. Writing court reports is part of being involved in the cases, as well. CASA advocates have access to records that can change the course of a case. Each CASA volunteer is asked to visit the child they are advocating for at least once a month — but many do a lot more.
Benson said there are many people involved in these cases, and everyone is looking out for the best interest of the child. However, the CASA advocate is the one person who really represents the child and his or her best interests.
Benson said CASA advocates are sworn in every other month, with the next round of training for a fairly large group — 10 people.
“There’s an increase in interest in Mon County, and we love that and we want to keep going, and in Preston County, I think we want to move in that direction, too,” Benson said.
Benson said it’s also great to be there when CASA advocates are being sworn-in. She said they are truly appreciated by the court and the community involved in CASA’s program.
For the holiday season, CASA will be receiving a donation of backpacks from Northwestern Mutual. These will go to kids in the foster care system. Many of these children left their homes with nothing or very little of their personal items.
Each year, the kids receive a backpack with their names on it, along with an Amazon Fire tablet, a pair of shoes and other items a child might need from day to day.
“These new backpacks that are tailored specifically to a child mean the world to these kids, because a lot of these children have never had something of their own or had something new that was made just for them before,” Benson said.
Fred Bruni, from Northwestern Mutual, said this donation started about five years ago because there was a need for it.
“We do the backpacks with their initials or name on them. Something that’s their own. A pair of shoes that’s their size. Usually a blanket, Amazon Fire we put in every one of them, and a lot of other things,” Bruni said.
Northwestern Mutual is sponsoring 48 children this year and raised around $25,000 to pay for these backpacks. Bruni said they are also involved in Alex’s Lemonade Stand and Empty Bowls.
“This last few years with this backpack project has been really good, and we’re able to raise more money every year internally to serve more children,” Bruni said.
