The CASA of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit is now a reality. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) has been in existance for over 30 years and has been in Georgia for the past 20 years. This program is designed to focus recruiting and training volunteer advocates for our abused and neglected children that are going through our DFCS and Court systems. The planning for this program started over a year ago when Representative Penny Houston and Judge Jody Steedley met with a CASA representative Angela Tanzella to discuss the possibilities of starting a CASA program for our Judicial Circuit. After this very pressing meeting with Representative Houston and Judge Steedly, Angela met with the Family Connection Coordinators, Communities In Schools Executive Directors, and Drug Free Coalition members from Atkinson, Berrien, Cook, Lanier, and Clinch Counties to form a steering committee. This committee was constructed to design a strategic implementation plan for the CASA of the Alapaha Judicial Circuit program. After many months of research, planning, and evaluating options, the steering committee decided to house the program under the Berrien County Collaborative's umbrella of programs and services. The Berrien County Collaborative has since hired Elaine Douglas as a full-time CASA Director and has begun to recruit volunteers for the first scheduled training class in early February.
The need for this program is vital to our support system for our children. We currently have over 200 abused and neglected children in need of these services. If you would like more information regarding this program and or would like to be volunteer advocate for a child, please contact Elaine Douglas at elaine.douglas@berrien.k12.ga.us/229-686-6576.
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