Local Org Receives National Grant to Help Kids in Foster Care

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/Prince George’s County has been awarded a $30,000 Recruitment and Awareness grant from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Association for Children. Funds will be used to tailor a national public awareness campaign about child abuse and neglect for local markets, and to distribute the campaign.

There are nearly 950 CASA/GAL programs nationwide, including 45 state offices, that recruit, train and support volunteers who advocate in court for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Their advocacy enables judges to make the most well-informed decisions for each child.

National CASA/GAL has developed a broad-based national campaign, “Change a Child’s StoryTM.” It is distinguished from other campaigns in that its messaging is told from the point of view of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. The campaign shows the importance to these children of having a volunteer by their side to advocate for their best interests.

In Prince George’s County, the campaign will run on social media, the radio, on DCTV and in local newspapers.

“We are so grateful for this opportunity to raise awareness about our mission and recruit more volunteers to serve children in foster care as we seek to grow to serve every child in foster care in Prince George’s County. This campaign will also help us as we work to attract more men and more bilingual volunteers to meet the needs of our community,” said Ann Marie Binsner, Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/Prince George’s County.

The “Change a Child’s StoryTM campaign was developed with R&R Partners, a cause-driven marketing and advocacy agency that has worked on prominent social issues campaigns. R&R Partners conducted focus groups across the country to ensure the campaign would resonate with target audiences while being sensitive to the perceptions of those with experience growing up in foster care.

The federal grant funds distributed through National CASA/GAL are provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US Department of Justice, as authorized under the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990. In 2019, National CASA was awarded nearly $10.7 million in federal grants.

Individuals interested in volunteering should contact CASA at 301-209-0491 or go to their website at www.pgcasa.org.

About Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)/Prince George’s County, Inc.

Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/ Prince George's County, Inc. is a volunteer-based organization that partners with the juvenile court to improve the lives of abused and neglected children living in foster care. With a strong commitment to diversity, CASA trains and supervises volunteers from the community who advocate for the best interest of children, recognizing and respecting each child's individual needs. By providing a voice to children in the foster care system, it is our goal to promote the timely placement of the children we serve in safe, permanent homes.