Leslie Dorn of United Way joined the Oldies 1013 Morning Show with a guest, Ollie Meritt from the Jefferson County CASA Voices for Children program. Merritt and her office handle foster cases of children that have been temporarily or permanently removed from their parents or guardians’ homes to be an advocate for those children throughout the court process and their time in foster care.
CASA trains volunteers to advocate for specific children that they represent so that they provide adequate assistance and support for them.
Merritt was asked about the next training class for CASA volunteers and she explained more about what a volunteer does.
She went on to explain the steps of becoming an advocate and the current need for volunteers in Jefferson County.
Jennifer Lipp a host on the show asked Meritt about the potential confusion between a volunteer and an actual foster parent and Merritt responded this way.
Meritt went on to say that CASA advocates sometimes are the only voice to speak on the behalf of the children which is why their role is important.
The next six-week training session for CASA volunteers will begin on June 2nd, to apply to be a volunteer visit VFCadvocates.org
