community
september27
2011
CASA Seeks More Advocates for Foster Children
Last year in Columbia County, 182 children
spent time in foster care. Fewer than one in five had an
advocate to give them a voice in court.
“The system is full of compassionate lawyers,
judges, social workers and foster families, but this
intense need can strain the system to the point where
they are simply unable to protect the rights of each
child,” said CASA executive director Kathryn Bourn.
“This isn’t just a problem. It is nothing short of a
violation of their basic human rights, in a country
where we aren’t supposed to fear such things.”
CASA for Kids, which serves foster children
in Columbia County, is recruiting new volunteer
advocates. A new training class for CASA advocates
starts Oct. 20 in St. Helens. Volunteers receive 30 hours
of training before getting assigned the child or siblings
for whom they will advocate.
Volunteers come from all walks of life:
teachers, business people, retirees, stay-at-home
parents, millworkers, grandparents, college students,
nurses, and other extraordinary men and women.
Columbia County currently has 15 volunteer
court appointed special advocates (CASAs) who work
with 31 children. They make sure that the abuse and
neglect that the children originally suffered at home
does not continue as abuse and neglect at the hands of
the system. Low caseloads for CASA volunteers mean
the courts can make better decisions for children. They
handle just one or two cases at a time so that they can
give each child’s case the sustained, personal attention
he or she deserves.
“Our current CASA volunteers are doing a great
job of serving the 20% of children with a CASA, but
our community is failing the other 80% still waiting for
an advocate,” Bourn said. Bourn believes that serving
every child in the foster care system is possible within
the next three years with enough community support.
The National CASA Association recently
awarded CASA for Kids a $41,000 new program
development grant to support its efforts to sustain and
expand the program in Columbia County. “The grant is
a key part, but we also need people to come forward and
advocate for the best interests of our foster children,”
Bourn said.
“For people who cannot commit the volunteer
hours necessary to be CASA advocate, we also need
volunteers to help out the organization in many other
ways,” Bourn said. CASA for Kids also needs non-
advocate volunteers to serve on its board, help with
fundraising, and assist in the office.
The local nonprofit organization is part of
a national movement to protect the rights of foster
children. In 1977, a family court judge in Seattle
created CASA to train and support volunteers from all
walks of life to speak out and act as advocates for the
best interests of abused and neglected children.
Judges, attorneys, child welfare workers
and parents overwhelmingly report that volunteers
make a difference with the children they serve.
CASA volunteers are highly effective in getting their
recommendations accepted in court, and their reports
lead to a higher number of services being ordered for
children and families.
A child with a CASA advocate is:
More likely to be adopted and find a safe,
continued on page 11
Providence Clinic Leaving Vernonia continued from front page
Astoria.
But in August 2011 the VHCB
received notice that they would not be a
recipient of that FQHC grant funding.
In the wake of the failure
to receive FQHC status, and with
Providence intending to leave Vernonia,
the VHCB is now exploring other
options of how to service the citizens in
the Vernonia community.
When asked why Providence is
going ahead with plans to discontinue
medical service in Vernonia, even though
they have been invited by the VHCB
to stay, Walker provided the following
response:
“The board came to the decision
to pursue FQHC status, and Providence
has been supportive of that decision.
That process created some uncertainties
for Providence as we continued to
operate the clinic while the board went
through the FQHC process. We were
unable to recruit a full-time physician,
given the open question about the future
operation. Filling other staff positions
was also a concern. Providence had to
take some extraordinary steps, including
bringing in staff from other areas, to
keep the clinic open. Those steps are not
sustainable in the future. As the board
continued to pursue other options for
operating the clinic, it became apparent
to Providence that providing services
7
beyond this year simply was not
possible.”
The statement from Providence
continues, “We also know that the
clinic location itself is not sustainable.
It operates in a building that continues
to face the danger of floods. Providence
spent significant dollars in protecting the
building during the big flood – and again
during another major flood warning.
Providence also spent significant dollars
to move the clinic to a temporary location
to continue providing services during the
flood. It would not make sound financial
sense to protect this building again in the
case of another flood or flood warning.”
Heather Lewis, who has been
assisting the VHCB in an advisory
capacity in their attempts to move the
clinic out of the flood zone, says the
VHCB is currently having conversations
on several fronts to figure out what
will happen when Providence leaves
Vernonia on December 31, 2011. “We’re
not sure what that model will look like
and it is premature for us to name who
those partners might be at this time,”
said Lewis.
The flyer Providence is handing
out to patients in Vernonia states that
they will be sending a letter to their
patients by October 1st to outline the
changes taking place.
DON’T MISS THE 9th ANNUAL...
CLAUDIA THE CHINOOK
VENDORS
KIDS’ TROUT POND
SCARECROW STUFFING
CRAFTSMEN
PUMPKIN CARVING
GREAT FOOD
SALMON VIEWING
!
A project of:
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Hayrides for the Family
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
“Knee Deep in Salmon” Silent Auction
Sat. October 1st, 2011
10 AM - 6 PM at Hawkins Park
C
L
unity
Vernonia Comm
r
Learning Cente
