For Immediate Release s45

March Media Release Template

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE

Contact: YOUR CONTACT’S NAME PHONE CELL PHONE EMAIL

YOUR CASA PROGRAM Celebrates National Social Work Month

YOUR CITY, Texas – As part of March’s National Social Work Month celebration, YOUR CASA PROGRAM recognizes and appreciates those who devote their lives to bettering the lives of others. Social workers strive to build a stronger community for all people, and CASA is a proud partner in the effort to secure a brighter future for children in the foster care system.

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates®) programs collaborate with the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), Child Protective Services (CPS) and other key advocates in the child welfare system to ensure that children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.

“CASA and CPS share a common goal – to protect the unprotected,” said ED’s FIRST AND LAST NAME, executive director of YOUR CASA PROGRAM. “We all work together to ensure that these vulnerable children’s needs are met while they are in foster care, and that they are placed in loving homes.”

CASA volunteers come from all walks of life and backgrounds, but all have one thing in common – a passion for helping children. They are appointed to advocate for the children’s best interests and get to know the child personally, as well as speak with everyone involved in the child’s life so that they can make well-informed and holistic placement recommendations to the court. YOUR CASA PROGRAM is one of the 71 CASA programs in Texas that recruit, screen and train these volunteers.

CASA continues to tackle emerging challenges with several new initiatives, including Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE), a Family Finding partnership between CASA and DFPS. CFE was constructed around studies that have found that one of the strongest indicators of a child’s well-being is the number of present, reliable adults in the child’s life. This new partnership emphasizes that children have many blood relatives and other adult connections that can be identified and located, and engaged in the child’s life from the beginning of the case. Using the tools of CFE, CASA and CPS work together to build an adult support system for these children that will last even after the case is closed.

“We believe the Collaborative Family Engagement initiative can significantly improve the child’s outlook on their relationships while navigating the system,” said ED’s LAST NAME. “Our primary focus is the child’s well-being, and our collaborative work with CPS will continue to reflect that.”

Last year, # CASA volunteers served # children in the child welfare system in YOUR COUNTY/SERVICE AREA, but # children still need a volunteer to advocate for their best interests. Consider making a difference for these children by becoming a CASA volunteer.

“We dream of a day when CASA is no longer needed because every child has the forever home they deserve,” said ED’s LAST NAME. “But until then, YOUR CASA PROGRAM will continue to work tirelessly with DFPS and CPS to create a better future for children in the child welfare system.”

For more information, visit www.BecomeaCASA.org AND/OR LOCAL PROGRAM WEBSITE AND PHONE. The next INFORMATION/TRAINING session is TIME, DATE, PLACE.