Ex. Dir. of CASA MS Speaks to Rotary Club of North Jackson
Posted by Bill Osborne on Apr 18, 2017
Mary Largent Purvis, Executive Director of CASA MS spoke to the Rotary Club of Jackson at its April 18, 2017 Meeting. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. Their role is to advocate for children in the Child Welfare System of Mississippi. CASA was formed in 1977 in Seattle CASA MS is a non-profit organization that advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected through the development and support of court-sanctioned, community- based CASA programs which provide trained and supervised volunteers. There are currently six CASA affiliates in MS in Adams, Clay, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Warren Counties. The Hinds County affiliate is in the process of reorganizing and is not currently active.
According to Ms. Purvis, there are more than 660,000 children in foster care the US. Sixty percent (60%) of those children (almost 400,000) have no access to a CASA volunteer. According to CASA, a child with a CASA volunteer is more likely to find a safe, permanent home:
- More Likely to be adopted
- Half as likely to re-enter foster care
- Substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care.
- More likely to have a plan for premanency, especially children of color
Children with CASA volunteers get more help while in the system ...
- more services are ordered for the children
- and they are more likely to to have a consistent, responsible adult presence.
- Volunteers spend significantly more time with the child than a paid guardian ad litem.
Mrs. Purvis is seeking CASA volunteers, who do not need to be attorneys, but can be. Financial donations would be appreciated.
We thank Mrs. Purvis for her presentation, for her service and commitment to the children of Mississippi. She is chown in the accompanying phot during her presentation.