Colonial CASA Newsletter

Important Program Updates

Volume I, Issue 03

April 12, 2006

In This Issue...

• Pencil It In...
• MMRs Serve Great Purpose
• E-Learning Provides Continuing Education Credit
• The Spirit of Giving Warms the Hearts of CASA Children
• The Judge's Page, an E-Newsletter
• Chickahominy House Fundraiser Helps Colonial CASA's Capital Campaign
• Volunteers Ask Questions and Voice Concerns
• Program Policy Reminder: Case Closure
• Spotlight on a Resource: FAMIS

Pencil It In:

• April 29: Colonial CASA's Spring Fling
• May 8: Monthly Meeting, 11:30am

"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become."

-Louis Pasteur

MMRs Serve Great Purpose

During April's Monthly Meeting, Robin Bledsoe, Colonial CASA's Executive Director, updated current volunteers on the importance of Monthly Monitoring Reports. These reports are important as they keep case supervisors updated on case activities. Equally important, MMRs serve an intricate role in the grant writing process:

Colonial CASA reported the number of contacts and hours volunteers spent on CASA cases during the third quarter (January 1st to March 31st) of this fiscal year. These numbers help tell the Colonial CASA story: CASA volunteers made 2,344 out of court contacts, filed 36 court reports, and logged 2,600 volunteer hours! You can see how these statistics show funders how invaluable our volunteers are to the children they serve, and community at large!

E-Learning Provides Continuing Education Credit

While at the National CASA Conference, Colonial CASA staff learned about National CASA's new E-Learning program. It was created to provide continuing education opportunities to CASA volunteers, staff, and Board members. The current online seminar addresses the educational concerns facing CASA children and provides suggestions for managing these problems. In the fall of 2006, National CASA will release an E-Learning seminar on foster children aging out of the system. This educational opportunity is targeted to the computer savvy child advocate. Stay tuned for details!

The Spirit of Giving Warms the Hearts of CASA Children

Colonial CASA's newest auxiliary group, the Spirit of Giving, created a non-denominational Spring basket specific and unique to each CASA child for their CASA volunteer to deliver.

The Spirit of Giving brings all CASA children "a sense of hope, health and well- being, as members of the community from members of the community." This fall, the Spirit of Giving will provide back-to-school backpacks for each middle school aged CASA child!

"I delivered the Spring baskets this weekend and the girls were thrilled!! They quickly took the basket apart and inspected all the items and seemed excited about everything. They were visiting Mom at the time and it seemed to really cheer up a gloomy Saturday." – A CASA Volunteer

To Learn More about the Spirit of Giving, Click Here.

The Judge's Page, an E-Newsletter

The Judge’s Page is an educational e-newsletter located on the National CASA website. The newsletter is co-sponsored by National CASA and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. It is an online resource for Judges, attorneys, child advocates, CASA staff, and CASA volunteers. Subscription to the newsletter is free; feel free to look at it in your spare time -- an oxymoron, I know!

To View and Subscribe to the Judge's Page, Click Here.

Chickahominy House Fundraiser Helps Colonial CASA's Capital Campaign

Each year, the Chickahominy House opens its doors to host a fundraising dinner for Colonial CASA. All the proceeds go to CASA as the Chickahominy House donates all cost. This was the first year CASA volunteers were invited to the event; typically, we do not ask volunteers to donate money since they give so much of your time! The fundraiser was a huge success, thank you! The donations will go toward the Capital Campaign.

When the Capital Campaign began, the goal was to pay off the $140,000 loan for the new office building by December 2005. That goal is very close, Colonial CASA has $10,000 left to pay off on an interest only loan. Much thanks to the endless community support of Colonial CASA, its mission, and its volunteers!

Volunteers Ask Questions and Voice Concerns

Colonial CASA is committed to providing its volunteers an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns. In this manner, we strive to provide our volunteers with the best support and resources we have available. The Monthly Meetings are one way we strive to achieve this end. During April's Monthly Meeting, volunteers asked the following questions, which are cited and answered here for you:

A Success Story. A CASA volunteer provided a success story of a past CASA child. This volunteer was there, every step of the way, through various foster homes and even out-of-county placements. She is happy to report that her CASA child is now enlisted in the U.S. Army. She was his advocate for 5 years and was the one person who never gave up on him!

How Many People Read MMRs? MMRs are only read by your case supervisor or other CASA staff (if either you nor your supervisor are unavailable and pertinent case information is needed). When MMR information is used for grant writing purposes, only the statistics (hours spent on the case, number of contacts) and not words are reported. No one outside the CASA family sees Monthly Monitoring Reports.

Program Policy Reminder: Case Closure

It is important to remember that Colonial CASA continues to monitor cases 6 months after they have been removed from the docket. As such, a CASA volunteer's job is not over until Colonial CASA has officially closed the case. Once you receive written notification of case closure in the mail, your case has been closed. Until that time, please continue monitoring the case and seeing the child at a minimum of once a month.

Spotlight on a Resource: FAMIS

The Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS) provides health insurance to uninsured children. Refer to your Community Resource Directory for additional information or click here.