Virtual Town Hall to Replace PA CASA Conference

Pennsylvania Court Appointed Special Advocates invites you to an online gathering, “CASA Across the Commonwealth – Virtual Town Hall.” Debuting Friday, October 23 at 1:00 p.m., help us join digital hands to raise awareness and to honor CASA volunteers, staff, and board members from across the State. Join the movement!

CASA Across the Commonwealth – Virtual Town Hall is the first event for our network of its kind and will be featured concurrently on PA CASA’s website, Facebook, and YouTube. PA CASA plans to highlight the work of its 27 Local Programs located across the state as they advocate from a distance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch as CASA leaders, judges, elected officials, and advocates from across the state discuss the importance of CASA volunteers before, during, and after the Pandemic.

Background:
Although our 2020 state-wide conference had to be postponed due to the pandemic, mark October 23 on your calendar to listen-in as leaders throughout Pennsylvania as we celebrate “CASA Across the Commonwealth.”  Log on to at 1:00 p.m. to hear about the efforts CASA’s are taking to make sure kids are still being cared for and volunteers are being kept safe.

The current pandemic makes the work of PA CASA even more critical.  Experts have predicted a significant surge in child abuse and neglect due to the loss of jobs and the shuttering of families. An adequately funded statewide CASA association can and will ensure that the best interests of the State’s most vulnerable children are not forgotten.

CASA is the perfect example of a private-public partnership. A child with a CASA will leave the system and is less likely to return – thereby eliminating costs to the system and preserving public resources. Children assigned a CASA volunteer are much less likely to spend time in long-term foster care and less likely to re-enter the child welfare system.  Less than 1% of children assigned a CASA volunteer re-entered the foster care system in 2018, as compared to 21% of children who did not have a CASA volunteer assigned.

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