Would you give 20 hours a month to encourage a foster child?
Over 200 children in Whitfield and Murray Counties need caring
adults to support them, so we need volunteers! You can learn to
be a court advocate for a child in foster care.
CASA volunteers are appointed by the Murray/Whitfield Juvenile Court Judge to advocate for children’s best interests. They are appointed to children at the time that they enter foster care, and stay with each case until it is closed and the child is in a safe, permanent home.
CASA volunteers are a consistent, nurturing adult presence during a very uncertain, and sometimes scary and unstable time in a child’s life. Our best interest advocacy is driven by the guiding principle that children grow and develop best with their family of origin, if the family can be safely reunified.
We serve as a source of support and assistance to the child’s family members, as they work to recover from the challenges and traumas that made that child’s home an unsafe place. CASA volunteers serve as officers of the court, in the role of a trained guardian ad litem.
They interview anyone who might be able to shed light on the child’s needs, and then go to court and make recommendations to the judge, based on their independent assessments about what is in the best interests of the child.
CASAs also serve as a source of encouragement and support, visiting the child in their foster placement, making sure the child is safe, listening to the their perspective, wishes, and dreams, and offering mentorship, guidance, and affirmation as the child finds their way through this time of transition and growth.
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Now’s the time for YOU to change a child’s life.
Help shoulder the responsibility of protecting, serving, and nurturing these young fellow citizens, in their time of uncertainty and loss.
Our need for committed volunteers is critical and constant. We do not have enough CASA volunteers to give an advocate to every family going through the Murray/Whitfield foster care system, but that is our dream! We hope to engage our entire community in speaking up for children and making local families stronger.
As we seek to build a team of volunteers who can work together to recognize and relate to all of the diverse experiences and perspectives of the families we serve, we look for opportunities to recruit volunteers who are of all backgrounds, and who are bilingual, especially in Spanish and English. We ask that everyone consider standing up for one of our community's children.
Our commitment
Murray/Whitfield CASA and Family Support Council, Inc. recognize that creating a diverse and inclusive organization is a means toward creation of a more effective and more powerful voice for children in foster care. We strive for an organization that reflects all of the voices and perspectives of our community and of the children we serve.
We also work to ensure that everyone who wishes to serve children, no matter their cultural, educational, ethnic or socioeconomic background, is welcome and is empowered with knowledge and experiences to be confident and competent in helping children and families from backgrounds different than their own. Family Support Council’s commitment to equity is an important part of our core values. In order to provide the best quality advocacy for children in our community, we believe that we must be responsive to the needs of everyone who may receive or be affected by our services.
To that end, our policies, practices and recommendations are administered without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender, gender identity and gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, disability status, military or veteran status, immigration status, ancestry or national origin.
If you have concerns or questions about our program, or our commitment to the above, please contact CASA Program Manager Chelsea DeWaters, or Family Support Council, Inc. Executive Director, Holly Rice, by calling 706-272-7919.
Join our team and make a real difference in the life of a child.
To inquire about becoming a CASA volunteer or to find out how to join our next volunteer training, contact Tracy Harmon at her above information, or fill out the form below!
