EATON — The Preble County Court Appointed Special Advocate Program — court-appointed special advocates for abused and neglected children – partnered with the YWCA Dayton: Preble County Office for a trauma informed care presentation by Rural Prevention Educator, Emily Durand.
The CASA volunteers learned, among discussing other topics, about trauma, the pyramid of violence, and the impact on brain development in children.
“The most valuable takeaway from the presentation for me related to understanding how children or people who experienced trauma may misunderstand positive social interactions, often creating a downward spiral of negative behaviors,” said Mary Warrick, Director of the Preble County CASA Program. “CASA volunteers are only one support in a child’s life, but can make a positive difference. The more interactions kids can have with caring adults, the better a child learns to trust and self-regulate emotions, which, in turn, promotes positive behaviors.”
CASA volunteers are local, dedicated community members who advocate for children in the Preble County Juvenile Court, because the children have been removed from their parents due to abuse or neglect or otherwise necessitated Children Services’ involvement. The CASA volunteers ensure that the children’s best interests are considered by the Juvenile Court Judge.
CASA volunteers are always needed. The only prerequisites for becoming a CASA volunteer are being at least 21 years of age, clearing an extensive background screening and successfully completing necessary hours of training. A new volunteer pre-service training will be held virtually on Tuesday evenings beginning March 16 and ending April 13 from 5:30 to 8:30. The curriculum will be presented on Google Classroom with virtual meetings via Microsoft Teams each Tuesday.
Anyone interested in learning more about becoming a CASA volunteer or completing the training, should contact Debbie Huff at [email protected] or Mary Warrick at [email protected]. More information may also be found by visiting www.prebcocasa.org or by calling (937) 456-2885.
The Preble County CASA Program is a member of the Ohio CASA Association, the only statewide organization supporting all local CASA programs in Ohio. The Preble County CASA Program is also a part of the National CASA Association, a network of more than 900 CASA programs serving children in 49 states and Washington D.C.
