The Kansas CASA Bug Comes to Phillipsburg

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1 CASA CONNECTION CASA CONNECTION JANUARY, 2017 The Kansas CASA Bug Comes to Phillipsburg On October 22nd, Kansas CASA State Director Mickey Edwards made the trek from Emporia to Phillipsburg in the CASA Bug. The purpose of Director Edwards trip was to conduct a CASA Board training with the CASA of the 17th Judicial District, Inc. Board of Directors. With full attendance from the Board, items such as the role of the Board were discussed, including Policy and Procedure, fundraising and public relations, among other items. The training also provided the Board with an opportunity to get a picture with the CASA Bug, which is becoming a recognizable symbol of CASA throughout the State, appearing at parades, community celebrations and numerous seminars. CATCH THE CASA BUG!! STAFF & BOARD Tony A. Miller, Executive Director Melissa Schoen, President Norton County Jan Badsky, Vice-President Decatur County Jerilyn Lee, Sec Treasurer Osborne County Angie Wells Phillips County Becky Ayers Decatur County Kasey Grauerholz Smith County Heather Poore Osborne County Randall Thompson Phillips County If you would like more information of becoming a CASA Board Member, please contact the CASA office or any of the cur- VOLUNTEERS From Left: Kasey Grauerholz, Jan Badsky, Tony Miller, Heather Poore (Front), Becky Ayers, Angie Wells, Jerilyn Lee, Missi Schoen, and Randall Thompson. CASA Receives Grant from Dane G. Hansen Foundation CASA of the 17th Judicial District, Inc. is very excited to announce it has received at grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for 2017 in the amount of $34,000!! Funding from the grant will assist in new and on-going training for CASA Volunteers, Board of Director, and staff, and aid in expenses for travel for staff and volunteers. Also, funding will aid CASA in program awareness, growth and expansion through awareness campaigns and recruitment of CASA volunteers and board members. In addition to these projects, this funding will allow CASA to open a centrally located office in Phillips County, in addition to a satellite office currently used as a primary office in Osborne. CASA Director Tony A. Miller states this funding is crucial for program growth and the ability to serve more children. We cannot thank the Hansen Foundation enough for their continued support of not only CASA, but their dedication to the best interest of all youth in North Central and Northwest Kansas, Miller added. They provide invaluable support to not just this area, but in many areas of community development and growth. Debra Dreiling, Phillipsburg Kathy Wyrill, Kirwin Luke Rahjes, Kensington Annette Kennedy, Phillipsburg Rebecca Applebee; Osborne Kelly Smith, Hoxie Tony A. Miller; Osborne CASA of the 17th Judicial District is looking for many more caring individuals to serve abused and neglected children in their counties as a CASA Volunteer. If you would like more information on being a CASA Volunteer, please contact the CASA office at (785) , casa17@kansascasa.org or stop by the office at the

2 PAGE 2 CASA CONNECTION BOARD OF DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT MELISSA SCHOEN-PRESIDENT Melissa joined the CASA Board in 2011 and continues to be a very active Board Member, serving the last 2 plus years as President. Director Tony Miller had this to say about Melissa, Missi came to the Board at a crucial time in the organization and has been a tremendous asset to our team. She takes a very active role in all aspects of the agency, including fundraising, policy and procedures, and organizational growth, as well as many other areas. We are very fortunate to have Missi, as well as our other outstanding Board Members. Tell us a little about yourself: I am a 1997 Graduate of Norton Community High School. Following graduation I attended the University of Kansas and graduated in 2002 with a BS in Broadcast Journalism and a BA in Communication Studies. I chose to attend Washburn Law School and graduated with my law degree in Currently I have a Law practice in Norton, and am the elected Phillips County Attorney Why did you decide to become involved with CASA? While serving as a Guardian ad Litem in a Child in Need of Care case, I saw the difference a CASA Volunteer made in a child s life, and have been involved with CASA ever since. As a member of the Board of Directors, I see the impact our volunteers continue to have and am fortunate to work on growing our organization What message would you have for our Friends of CASA and other supporters? CASA relies mostly on fundraising and donations to operate, and though challenging at times, the success stories our wonderful organization produces are worth it Thank you Melissa for your dedication to CASA!! CASA Volunteer Advocate Spotlight Luke Rahjes Smith County Meet CASA Volunteer Luke Rahjes!! Luke completed the New Volunteer Training in Director Tony A. Miller, Luke brings high integrity and professionalism, as well as a passion necessary to being a successful CASA Volunteer Advocate. Luke has the tools and qualities we strive to bring to our Advocate team. Tell us a little about yourself? I farm with my father and uncle. Together we raise mostly wheat and milo, but have a few dozen cows as well. My hobbies include traveling and learning about 20 th century history. Why did you decide to become a CASA Volunteer Advocate? I thought it would be a good way to help out a child or teenager that is going through an unfamiliar situation. Being able to be there for the child as a constant and stable presence, I believed would be helpful for all involved. What do you feel is the most important role you serve as a CASA Volunteer Advocate? The role of being a child s friend, yet always learning what the whole situation entails and from that information figuring out what is in the best interest of the child. If you would have one message for our CASA Connection readers and Friends of CASA, what would that be? This is a group that leads to real constructive change for people. With the volunteers, there are boots on the ground to help make sure that the child is being treated fairly. CASA is setup so the volunteers have a limited number of children to oversee, reducing the chance of a case becoming dire and unstable.

3 CASA CONNECTION PAGE 3 In-Service Trainings Benefit Volunteers in Many Ways A CASA Volunteer s work, although extremely rewarding at times, can sometimes be stressful. Many hours and miles can be accumulated throughout the life of a case for a Volunteer after assignment by a Judge. As many of these cases progress the volunteers rely on things they have learned not only in their initial thirty hour volunteer training, but more times than not, what they have learned at various In-Service Trainings. In addition to the initial training, each Volunteer is required to complete a minimum of 12 hours of on-going training annually. Many times, these are held with guest speakers in the area of child welfare. Most recently, CASA of the 17th Judicial District, Inc. volunteers had the opportunity to attend in-services conducted by Osborne County Magistrate Judge Renee Henke and St. Francis Community Services Social Worker/Supervisor Jodie Wisdom. In October, Judge Henke spoke to the volunteers about what she looks for when considering CASA appointments, and her expectations of a CASA. She also praised the Volunteers for their work with the Children. In November, Mrs. Wisdom also provided a very informative session on the programs St. Francis Community Services has and the many roles they play. A good discussion was held on ways CASA and SFCS can work together to provide the very best support for the children and families, and ultimately provide the children with the best chance for a safe, permanent home. In addition to valuable knowledge gained, Director Tony Miller says there is much more than the training aspect. These in-service opportunities give the volunteers a chance to speak with their peers and not only learn new ideas, but bounce ideas off each other and use other s experiences to enhance their ability to work with the children they serve. CASA is always looking for new ideas for in-service opportunities for our outstanding Volunteer Advocates so if you have any ideas, please feel free to get in touch with a CASA Board Member, Staff, or Volunteer!! Below: Annette Kennedy (far left) and Luke Rahjes (far right) Above: Kathy Wyrill Above: Debra Dreiling

4 2017 CHOCOLATE AUCTION SET FOR MARCH 25TH The CASA of the 17th Judicial District, Inc. Board of Directors and Chocolate Auction Committee are excited to announce the 2017 Chocolate Auction will be held Saturday, March 25th, 2017 at the Huck Boyd Center in Phillipsburg, Kansas. Social Hour will begin at 5:00pm,featuring wine, heavy houerderves and plenty of yummy treats and fruit to dip in the famous chocolate fountain. The Silent Auction tables and first round of live auction items will begin at 5:00pm. As always, the silent auction tables will close at staggered times to give everyone to give everyone plenty of time to bid on the dozens of baskets filled with literally hundreds of donated items, gift certificates and services from businesses in the area. The Live auction items will again feature some outstanding vacations, sporting event packages, quilts, and many other items. The CASA Board of Directors and Chocolate Auction Committee members are working hard to make this the best Chocolate Auction yet, says Executive Director Tony Miller. Tickets to the Chocolate for CASA are just $10.00 in advance or at the door. Donors to the auction can get free tickets as well. If you have donated in the past, look for your donation letter in the mail the 1st week of January. If you have an item or service you would like to donate to the auction, or just make a monetary donation to CASA, please call the CASA Office at (785) or send to P.O. Box 160, Osborne, Ks See you at the Chocolate Auction!! CASA to open new office in phillipsburg CASA of the 17th Judicial District, Inc. will have a new home by the end of January!! Thanks to funding from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and additional support from the Morgan Foundation in Phillipsburg, CASA of the17th Judicial District, Inc. will be opening a new office in the Phillipsburg Community Building, located at 425 F Street (Northeast of the Phillips County Courthouse). The new office is located just inside the front door of the community building, on the left side of the hallway The new space will allow CASA staff and volunteers the ability to be more centrally located within the 17th Judicial District and also provides space to The volunteers do office work and meet with families and children in a quiet, private place. The office also will be used for Board of Director meetings, as well as provide space for storage for fundraising and office supplies that is not readily accessable to the agency at this time. Director Tony A. Miller stated the new office space was crucial for program expansion and provides CASA with the ability to provide more services to the Volunteers, families and children. We very much appreciate the support from the Dane G. Hansen and Morgan Foundations for their support in allowing us to make this move, Miller said. Being centrally located in Phillipsburg will benefit our volunteers in this area with much easier access to a place to work on their cases and with the children in a private setting. CASA will continue to also have its current office, located in the Osborne County Courthouse. This office will serve as a satellite office for staff and will continue to be used multiple days each week. An Open House is being planned for the new office and will be announced when a date is set. In the meantime, please stop by and say hi and take a look at the new office. Again, we would like to thank the Dane G. Hansen and Morgan Foundations for their support.

5 A question we are asked many times is Does CASA really make a difference? Goal 1 Child safety in placement We believe the statistics speak for themselves. Kansas CASA 2015 PROGRAM OUTCOMES Children should not experience recurrence of abuse or neglect while under court jurisdiction. Safety of children is the primary focus of the child in need of care system Results: A total of 1,777 CINC children were served by CASA s in KANSAS during children experienced substantiated recurrence of abuse or neglect during the year. 99% (1760 out of 1777) children were safe from additional abuse or neglect Goal of 95% was exceeded Goal 2 CASA stability Children should experience stability in CASA assignment while under court jurisdiction Results: 102 out of 1777 children had a change in their CASA volunteer during the year. 94% (1675 out of 1777) of children experienced stability with their CASA volunteer Goal of 90% was exceeded. Goal 3 Children remain in safe, permanent homes The jurisdiction of the Court should remain in place until children are placed in safe, stable, and permanent homes. Nationwide statistics show that 15% of abused and neglected children return to the jurisdiction of the Court as children in need of care within two years of the closure of their case. According to National CASA, the recidivism rate drops to 10% for children served by a CASA volunteer Results: In 2013, 828 children s cases were closed by CASA programs Within a two-year time period (case closure date - December 31, 2015), the originating jurisdiction re-opened CINC cases for 35 children. 96% of children did not re-enter the originating jurisdiction s CINC court 2 years following case closure Goal of 90% was exceeded Substance Abuse Number of children whose case involved substance abuse by the parent and/or child. (based on reports submitted) a. Number of children served in 2015: 1777 Number of children whose case involved substance abuse by the parent and/or child: 893 Substance abuse was involved in 50% of children s cases ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: It should be noted that results are based on reports submitted to Kansas CASA Association.

6 PO Box 160 ~ 423 W. Main Osborne, KS Phone: casa17@kansascasa.org CASA of the 17th Judicial District, Inc. is seeking caring, compassionate community members to serve as Volunteer Advocates for Abused and Neglected Children. We believe each and every child deserves a SAFE, PER- MANENT HOME. YOU could be the voice that gives them what they deserve!! No Experience Necessary For more information of how you can make a difference in the life of a child, please contact us by calling (785) , casa17@kansascasa.org Speak up for a child

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