Yes, you – Grown up and living a busy life! We also see your inner child. Be joyful and feel the holiday wonder. Also, step away for moments of calm. In these quiet moments we can see the future, and our purpose, more clearly.
This holiday season, CASA volunteers are fulfilling their purpose by helping youth open up and let in the joy. To see the beauty and wonder within themselves and to know they can carry hope into the new year.
VOICES wishes each of you a joyous season and look forward to our journey together in 2024. Always for the children!
In The Spot Light – Gratitude
The 2023 VOICES holiday gift drive was an incredible success! Over the years our holiday drives have enabled CASA volunteers to provide toys and gifts to thousands of babies, youth and teens. Thanks to feedback from CASA volunteers, who truly see these children, we are able tailor our wish list to include items that honor special traditions or help create new memories.
This year, VOICES hosted several ‘Toyland Days’. The VOICES CASA Advocate Center was filled with holiday gifts and opened to CASA volunteers to come and ‘shop’.
Think about how you feel when you select the perfect gift for your family or friends. That is how CASA volunteers feel!
Here are some beautiful comments we’ve heard from the CASA volunteers:
“This child is receiving Christmas gifts for the first time in his life.”
“The kids have moved around so much that they have nothing. Now they will have gifts just for them.”
“The siblings are completely different. It’s nice to select gifts that are specific to each of their interests.”
QFCO Tax Credit Eligible Donation
My CASA Journey – Uniquely Me
It’s important that a child living in foster care has opportunities to choose clothing or participate in activities of their choosing when often so much else is out of their control.
Several times a year, VOICES provides Target gift cards to CASAs to shop with their appointed youth for essential items chosen by the child. The shopping experience is part of the fun and CASA volunteers often mention the heartwarming care made in selecting items or trying on clothes. The experience (and the items) are as unique as the child.
At holiday time, VOICES supports a “virtual” toyland providing gift cards to the CASA volunteer to shop with and for the child during the holiday season. This style of toyland began during the COVID pandemic, but has endured with CASAs excitedly espousing the huge value of being able to provide what the child specifically wished for. As CASA volunteers said:
“What a great way to make sure the children get what they want and need! Thank you! So much fun to buy my kids exactly what they want! Thank you for helping to make my child’s holiday a bit brighter.”
Positive Outcomes And New Beginnings
As 2023 comes to a close, we reflect on all that has been done to bring advocacy to more children and elevate the CASA volunteer experience. Young lives that have endured trauma and family separation find hope in the determination of their CASA volunteer. VOICES measures success using business disciplines that ensure sustainability and integrity. However, we know true achievement is when a child is protected, has a voice and is in a permanent, loving home.
Here are sentiments directly from youth:
In 2024, let’s wrap the community around more youth and measure hope and permanency as well as data points. At VOICES we plan to introduce new communication channels, expand our CASA volunteer recruiting strategies and continue to listen to CASA volunteers so we tailor essential needs and experiences – as well as evaluating analytics!
We will let you know how it is going through our social media posts and this Voices of Hope Newsletter. If you ever have any questions, send us an email.
Community & Youth Connections – Things To Do This Holiday Season
While the holidays can be particularly difficult for youth living in foster care, CASA volunteers are trained and sensitively building new memories with their appointed youth through festive outings and special time together.
Given the caring generosity of our supporters and community partners, children are experiencing some much-needed joy, wonder (and fun!) through such experiences as:
- Snow Week at the Arizona Science Center
- Ballet Arizona’s The Nutcracker
- Holiday Bricktacular at Legoland
- Tis the Season: Holidays at MIM
- Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo
- Lights at the Farm at Vertuccio Farms
- Pratt Brothers Christmas at Rawhide
- Desert Farm Lights
To CASA Volunteers: Thank you for being a beautiful light not only this holiday season but throughout the child’s journey while they are away from home. Through your steadfast commitment and advocacy, you are sharing with these youth that they are worthy of time, valued, and seen.
For our community of supporters: Thank you for making these opportunities and their hope possible; we are grateful for the difference you make in the lives of foster children and families.
In Focus: Taking Care of Youth Present & Future
Present:
Earlier this year, the Arizona Legislature passed The Foster Care Bill of Rights (SB 1186), which updated language and expanded the rights of children living in foster care and the rights of parents. These rights now apply to children living in kinship foster care and include considerations for siblings, schools, medical and mental health services; among others.
Future:
The Arizona Department of Child Safety is required to determine if a child is eligible for Social Security or Veteran’s Administration benefits. There is now a more favorable practice for the handling of these benefits. DCS no long directs the payments to funding the foster care program. Instead, funds will be allocated to an account created for each child. A positive move for each child’s future. Arizona is the first state to adopt this revision.
Strengthening Advocacy Through Education
The results are in! CASA volunteers who participated in the VOICES education program voted for their top, most impactful, training sessions of the year. In 2023, we hosted 43 live webinars and one in-person training session to support participants in their role as a child advocate. Those who attended learned from professional experts about topics such as trauma, grief, self-regulation, attachment, cultural heritage, and much more. We are continuously amazed by the dedication shown by CASA volunteers to expanding their knowledge in order to better serve children in foster care.
Without further ado, the top voted training of the year goes to:
“The Brain, Trauma, & Attachment: What to Know as a CASA”!
This training session was facilitated by Meghan Hays Davis, the Program and Training Director at Prevent Child Abuse Arizona. Participants learned how a child’s brain is impacted by trauma, discussed systems and services available, and were provided insight into what they might experience in their CASA cases.
Thank you to Meghan and Prevent Child Abuse Arizona for your excellence and support!
If you’d like to learn more about trauma and the brain, check out this VIDEO by Dr. Dan Siegel!
Help VOICES maintain a high-quality education curriculum in 2024. Make a QFCO Tax Credit Elidgible Donation.
(This was the Voices of Hope Newsletter, December 2023. Subscribe to receive more.)
November is National Adoption Month. It is an opportunity to shine a light on the adoption journey and the many loving families that have come together as a result.
Why it matters: Supporting youth and child advocates requires community support
CASA volunteers provide a voice during sometimes scary and complex moments in a foster child’s life experience. Creating a new connection with a child or teen isn’t always easy. Experiences such as going for ice cream, flying a kite, or choosing a movie help a CASA volunteer and youth talk, share, and connect.
Why it matters: CASA volunteers must remain politically neutral when executing their CASA duties. They are appointed by Juvenile Court Judges and bound by Judicial protocols. However, they need to be aware and understand how changes in judicial policy and/or legislative actions may impact their day-to-day advocacy and how they engage with others involved in a child’s dependency.
Many schools are out for Fall break and families in the valley are adjusting their schedules as the holidays are just around the corner. For youth in foster care, this time of the year can be especially challenging. As Bruce Perry stated, “The capacity to successfully transition from one place to another, one activity to another, one internal state to another is fundamentally related to the capacity to self-regulate.
This past spring, we hosted the annual “By Your Side” event, a collaboration and honoring brunch for the CASA of Maricopa County volunteers. This special occasion brought together the compassionate CASA community to honor those who tirelessly advocate for the well-being of children in need, making a lasting impact in their lives.
