Mamou Rotary Club hears from CASA representatives

Gazette Staff Report

The Mamou Rotary Club, during its weekly meeting on Wednesday, February 24, welcomed representatives from CASA to discuss what they do. Troy Kennedy (advocate supervisor) and Deidra Lewis (recruitment and training coordinator) discussed how the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) speaks up for abused and neglected children in the juvenile dependency process through the use of highly-trained, competent volunteers.
The program is new to Evangeline Parish and representatives are working very hard to spread the word about CASA. They noted that in Louisiana:
•A child is abused every 48 minutes
•Every 10.5 hours a child is confirmed to have been sexually abused
•At any given time there are over 5,000 children in foster care. Of those in foster care, 48% are under 5
•A child dies before his or her first birthday every 14 hours
Court-appointed special advocates (CASA), speak up for the best interest of an abused child. They review records and talk to everyone involved, including social workers, attorneys, judges, parents, teachers, family members and, of course, the children themselves. They then present their recommendation to the courts, stating what they believe is best for the child. Judges, who often refer to CASAs as their “eyes and ears,” rely heavily on this testimony to make an informed decision about the child’s future.
The Mamou Rotary Club invites speakers and new members to come and join them on Wednesdays at noon inside the Mamou Fire Station. For more information, contact club president Valli Soileau (337-459-5540).