TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Vigo County CASA Director Glenna Cheesman said the organization is in dire need of volunteers.
CASA provides advocates for abused and neglected children as they move through the juvenile system.
With 690 children currently in the program already in March, Cheesman said it’s vital to bring in more volunteers. CASA currently has 16 staff members and Cheesman said that each member normally takes on about 25 cases.
“Our caseloads have been skyrocketing,” Cheesman stated. “Even though we have that zero waitlist, now we have very high caseloads that we need volunteers to help us with.”
CASA managed to eliminate its waitlist for children to join the program, but with a lack of volunteers, it’s added to the workload for staff.
However, Cheesman explained that it’s crucial for the program to keep a zero waitlist to maintain state and federal funding. If CASA is not able to meet specific guidelines and goals, it’d be listed as non-compliant.
“We could potentially lose funding for those positions which then would be devastating for our program,” Cheesman added.
Recruitment has been difficult over the past two years particularly with COVID-19 slowing down the process. Recruiting Supervisor Jan Hoff said keeping long-term volunteers is necessary for children in the program. She emphasized that it’s important for volunteers to build a bond with the children.
“These children have had so many people in and out of their lives that they don’t have a constant,” Hoff explained. “So as CASAs, that’s one of the key things that we look to do.”
Despite the immediate need for volunteers, Cheesman stressed the importance keeping these struggles out of the sight of the children they served. She said that staff and volunteers will always have the best interests of the children in their hearts.
“They don’t know their workload, they don’t know their caseload. That’s not something they’re apart of,” Cheesman explained. “All they know is that their CASA is there to see them and their CASA is there for them and is going to be speaking for them in their best interest.”
Anyone looking to volunteer for CASA can attend a ‘Brunch and Learn’ recruitment event at the Meadows Conference Room on March 31st from 10 a.m. to noon. Current volunteers will also be in attendance to provide additional information.
