CASA training made easy
Ponca City Now - January 7, 2014 6:42 am
Training to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate is made easy this month.
CASA is a program that trains adults to protect children who are being adjudicated in court.
Ruslyn Hermanson, Kay and Noble county CASA director said there is no experience needed.
The only requirements are that you are 21, provide references and pass a background check.
“ A CASA is trained and that’s the exciting part with the kind of training coming up, which is flex learning which means they can learn online at their own time frame," Hermanson said."I t will begin at the end of January and they can do this when it is convenient for them which is great.”
After the online training you will work with Hermanson and then begin working on cases.
Cases will not be thrown at you, you will get time to review the case and decide if it is right for you.
The first step to becoming a volunteer is fill out the application, which can be found at www.Kaynoblecasa.org.
Hermanson said CASA volunteers have the ability to contact anyone who interacts with that child.
" We are the ones who can go and check, make phone calls," Hermanson said. "A CASA has the ability once they are appointed to the case and the judge has made the appointment and it is all certified, then a CASA can talk to parents, teachers, they can talk to parent’s friends, their teachers that they are involved with, they can talk to coaches, they can talk to doctors. They have the ability to contact folks that interact with that child on a daily basis.”
Volunteers are also required to write reports and attend court hearings, however they are flexible.
Also, some travel may be involved, but if there is a lot of travel you can be reimbursed.
