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C A S A O F T R AV I S C O U N T Y, I N C .

Finding the perfect family for AlexOver the seven years Holly and Gavin Massingill have volunteered with CASA they have helped 10 children and experienced remarkable success. But Holly is quick to recall their most memorable moment of all: “When Alex was adopted by his forever family.” Alex and his siblings were the Massingills’ very first case and they stuck by his side for 3 years. His four siblings were adopted by relatives and family friends during this time, but Alex, the oldest at age 9, was seriously emotionally scarred. Holly recalls that he’d been “truly neglected, being locked in a closet while his mom did drugs. We were working to undo five years of him feeling like he didn’t matter.” “We were so nervous about our first case because it was before we had children,” shared Holly. They recall their first outings with Alex to places like Chuck E. Cheese’s. “He was so shy and had been through so much at that age, he wouldn’t talk to us and barely ate his pizza,” recalls Gavin, “but over the next year we became really close to him.”

Everyone knew Alex was smart, but it was discovered that he had an extremely high IQ. Holly and Gavin “realized he was taking everything so rough because he could internalize and understand what was happening to him and his family. He was intelligent enough to grasp all of that.” Holly and Gavin stayed in regular contact with Alex. They made sure he had resources where he lived and at school to grow confidence in himself and in his ideas and let him know people were proud

of him for doing well. During this time Holly and Gavin were the most consistent part of Alex’s life. Holly recalls, “His CPS supervisor changed, his case worker changed 3 times, the attorney changed and his placement changed.” With their support, Alex flourished and it was finally time to find the right adoptive family. Many factors add up to a perfect home for a child. In addition to loving parents, Holly and Gavin were seeking the developmental support Alex needed to best utilize his natural intelligence. When they learned of a family with a father who worked at a college they knew that being exposed to a higher education setting would be really good for Alex. “We felt this family would be better equipped to tap into Alex’s natural abilities,” said Gavin. In addition, the mom in this family had been adopted herself. “Alex was old enough to realize that family members had adopted other siblings and not him. We thought it would help him to be able to relate to his new mom knowing she’d been adopted as well,” shared Holly. Holly remembers how she cried on adoption day. “We were really happy for him to finally be out of the system. He’d been in there his whole life, in and out of the system from age two.”

“I have no doubt he will be a success in life,” Holly says. “I’m so grateful we saw him through and got to be there to finally celebrate his adoption into a permanent and loving family.”w

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The Voice

Sharon AlexanderKathy AvenLinda BairdPatricia BaxterMargaret BennettCharlotte CaplesGloria CeledonAngel ChancellorDawn CraneLorena DevlynCameron DumasMichael Edwards

Leslie FieldsShaleiah FoxSarah GrayMatthew GriceMyrtis GumsClaudette HawkinsDiane HayesJacqueline HillRobert JohnsonAshley KadenNancy KnightKatara LaBrie

Joy LambLori MadridDanielle MankJack MarshallMargarita MartinezSpencer McClureElaine MurrayCherrie NassMichelle NowlinTonya ParrottVictoria PearsonCarla Penny

Amy PirzadaChardonnay PooleCheryl RaeNicole ReyesErin RodriguezKari RouseMerisha ScottDaralyn ShackelfordShalyn ShanksMiranda ShoreAlexis Simon LandaCamille Smith

Kathleen SmithDena St. GermaineAnna StarkAmy StevensTerry ThomasBronwyn TowartAdrienne TriggWendy TsaoEva WatkinsMartha WebbOlga Zuniga

So far in 2012, CASA of Travis County has:

Served 599 new children

Closed cases for 502 children

Advocated for 1,442 children

with 515 volunteer advocates

Meet our newly sworn-in CASA volunteers!

“We were working to undo five years of

him feeling like he didn’t matter.”

“His CPS supervisor changed, his case worker changed 3

times, the attorney changed and his placement changed...

We saw him through...”

This is a problem we can solve“This is a problem we can solve.” This was said to me recently by a visionary woman whose commitment to CASA’s goal of a trained volunteer for every child who needs one has re-energized my own dedication.

You can learn about the problems children and families face, and why numbers have risen so dramatically, in our interview with Judge Darlene Byrne and Shelia Brown below. As you have seen in our cover story, CASA volunteers can be a big part of the solution for children – sticking by a child’s side through all obstacles until they are in a safe, permanent home.

For the first time, in October we served over 1,000 children in a single month. While I am glad that we have the capacity to serve that many children, I am troubled by the fact that roughly 500 children still need a trained CASA volunteer.

This fall, Austin Stone Community Church and the For The City Network invited us to be a partner in their Foster Care Initiative and pledged to help recruit 200 volunteers over the coming months. The exceptional woman I quoted earlier, a member of Austin Stone, and her family have, as part of our common vision, committed an extraordinary gift of $600,000 over three years to seed CASA’s growth!

We are thrilled and grateful for these creative partnerships and look forward to building many more until we have the capacity to serve every child. Together, as a community, we will solve this problem! - Laura D. Wolf, Executive Director

We spoke with the Honorable Darlene Byrne, Judge, 126th District Court, and Shelia Brown, Region 7 Director for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, about trends regarding children coming into Child Protective Services care and being appointed to CASA.

Can you tell us what you’ve seen over the past years regarding the number and severity of cases coming into Child Protective Services?

Judge Byrne – The number of cases that are being filed by the department are increasing pretty dramatically. The cases, I anecdotally believe, are more intense, more severe, and there are certainly more cases where the department is seeking immediate conservatorship [custody, when a child is removed from home], whereas in the past we were able to do more preventive work.

Do you have any thoughts on why these numbers are going up?

Shelia Brown – In time periods when the economy’s not doing so well, then we have more referrals, more removals and more services to families needed. We also get lots of referrals when school starts back up each year.

What are the most common needs that children and families have?

Judge Byrne – They need sustainable and safe housing, they need quality transportation, they need preventive and sustainable mental health services and they need one-on-one parent coaching.

Shelia Brown – Families need to know how to deal with stressful situations, how to manage life on life’s terms, when things go wrong. They need to know how to manage the crises that come upon them and balance those things and family.

Is there anything that we as a society are failing to do for our families?

Shelia Brown – Personally I truly feel like we have to reach out to everybody in the community. It takes a village to raise a child and support a family. Everybody has to be willing to pitch in and not turn a deaf ear when they see situations. Anytime you talk about

child abuse and neglect, most people want to feel like that really only exists in poor communities. That’s not true; it exists in all communities. We need to educate ourselves and be willing to reach out and help.

How do you decide when CASA gets appointed, knowing that we’re not yet at 100% coverage of cases?

Judge Byrne – If a child can communicate their desires effectively it’s important in my mind that they have an attorney represent their needs as well as a guardian ad litem [CASA, advocate for best interest]. Also, the more complicated the case is I want CASA on the case. If a child has disabilities or if there are multiple non-verbal children in home, I want CASA on the case.

What is the value of having CASA on cases?

Shelia Brown – Our agency welcomes and appreciates the work that CASA does. Children get quality service when CASA and CPS work in conjunction to meet a child’s basic needs.

Judge Byrne – When CASA is on a case I know with a true certainty that I have got one person in the courtroom whose sole purpose is to represent the best interest of that child – someone with the courage to speak out and to think creatively about the specific needs of this child and family.

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Growing to make sure every child can rely on CASA

In the last decade, despite big increases in the number of children coming into the CPS system, CASA of Travis County has grown from serving just 50% of those children to serving roughly 80% of them. And yet, there are still 500 children this year who don’t have a CASA volunteer to rely on.

Our vision is clear. Every child who has experienced abuse or neglect deserves a consistent and committed adult – a CASA volunteer – to rely on.

In order to provide a trained CASA volunteer to every child who needs one, we must grow two valuable resources. In coming years, we estimate that we must add at least 250 CASA volunteers and increase our revenue for professional staff to support volunteers’ work by around $750,000 annually.

This year, Board members Debbie Holley and David Rubin led a steering committee of Everett Carmody, Winnie Gage, Lesley Ledwell, Kirk Lewis and Todd Lewis to raise funds from individuals in Austin. So far donors have given or pledged $389,000 over the next four years and another 60 supporters have joined the Powerful Voice Society by giving $1,500 a year to provide a child with a CASA volunteer for an entire year.

For 2013 and beyond, we are excited to announce that the family giving $600,000 over the next three years has challenged us to engage the community to match their gift! We know our generous supporters will rise to this occasion to ensure that every child who needs one has a CASA volunteer to rely on!

Learn how you can help: www.casatravis.org/everychild

Save the date!

More Children, More Severe Abuse: A view from the Court and Child Protective Services

“Everybody has to be willing to pitch in and not

turn a deaf ear...”

Our Vision:For every child who needs us, CASA of Travis County

envisions a trained volunteer advocate, a safe home and a

promising future.

This is a problem we can solve“This is a problem we can solve.” This was said to me recently by a visionary woman whose commitment to CASA’s goal of a trained volunteer for every child who needs one has re-energized my own dedication.

You can learn about the problems children and families face, and why numbers have risen so dramatically, in our interview with Judge Darlene Byrne and Shelia Brown below. As you have seen in our cover story, CASA volunteers can be a big part of the solution for children – sticking by a child’s side through all obstacles until they are in a safe, permanent home.

For the first time, in October we served over 1,000 children in a single month. While I am glad that we have the capacity to serve that many children, I am troubled by the fact that roughly 500 children still need a trained CASA volunteer.

This fall, Austin Stone Community Church and the For The City Network invited us to be a partner in their Foster Care Initiative and pledged to help recruit 200 volunteers over the coming months. The exceptional woman I quoted earlier, a member of Austin Stone, and her family have, as part of our common vision, committed an extraordinary gift of $600,000 over three years to seed CASA’s growth!

We are thrilled and grateful for these creative partnerships and look forward to building many more until we have the capacity to serve every child. Together, as a community, we will solve this problem! - Laura D. Wolf, Executive Director

Growing to make sure every child can rely on CASA

In the last decade, despite big increases in the number of children coming into the CPS system, CASA of Travis County has grown from serving just 50% of those children to serving roughly 80% of them. And yet, there are still 500 children this year who don’t have a CASA volunteer to rely on.

Our vision is clear. Every child who has experienced abuse or neglect deserves a consistent and committed adult – a CASA volunteer – to rely on.

In order to provide a trained CASA volunteer to every child who needs one, we must grow two valuable resources. In coming years, we estimate that we must add at least 250 CASA volunteers and increase our revenue for professional staff to support volunteers’ work by around $750,000 annually.

This year, Board members Debbie Holley and David Rubin led a steering committee of Everett Carmody, Winnie Gage, Lesley Ledwell, Kirk Lewis and Todd Lewis to raise funds from individuals in Austin. So far donors have given or pledged $389,000 over the next four years and another 60 supporters have joined the Powerful Voice Society by giving $1,500 a year to provide a child with a CASA volunteer for an entire year.

For 2013 and beyond, we are excited to announce that the family giving $600,000 over the next three years has challenged us to engage the community to match their gift! We know our generous supporters will rise to this occasion to ensure that every child who needs one has a CASA volunteer to rely on!

Learn how you can help: www.casatravis.org/everychild

Kelli & Ryan AgnellAustin Bar FoundationAustin Pain Associates

Austin Tennis NetJessica & Jimmy BlacklockPaula & R. Sterling BoonJuli & Everett Carmody

Charfen InstituteBelinda Roberts & Todd Coleman

ConocoPhillips CompanyDenise & Jerry Conway

Jacqueline & Matthew CurtinCarolyn & Tom Curtis

Raymond T. DalioAlicia & Jon Duleba

Tracy & Matthew HamiltonKara & Jay Hartzell

Jackie & Albert HawkinsHealthTronics, Inc.

Eli HickeyDebbie & Bryan Holley

Kim & Kyle HughesKappa Alpha Theta - UT Chapter

Keep Austin WellDebbie & Chick Kobelan

Jill & Kirk LewisLisa & Todd Lewis

Joyce & David LindseyLive Oak - Gottesman L.L.C.

The Long FoundationMeador & Jones, L.L.P.

Mercedes-Benz of AustinKevin MiddletonMitte Foundation

National InstrumentsCarolyn & Tom Nicewarner

Jane Q. & James PiperAnita & Bert Pluymen

Timi & Phillip QuiciTina & John Recker

Melissa & David RubinJoyce & John Sampson

Seton Healthcare NetworkGene Alice & Max Sherman

SpredfastSuperior HealthPlan

teleNetwork Partners, Ltd.Topfer Family FoundationSarah & Andy Valenzuela

Laura Wolf & Fred Aus

Thank you to our major donors ($1,000 and up) between June 1, 2012 and October 31, 2012

More than 2,600 superheroes joined us and CASA of Williamson County in the race against child abuse at Mueller Lake Park & Hangar on September 30, 2012! The 5K and Kids 1K raised $125,000 thanks to our super-runners, fundraisers and sponsors. Special thanks to our top sponsors: KLRU-TV, Univision 62, KASE 101, AM 1300 The Zone, HealthTronics, CultureMap Austin, Mueller and Rogue Running!

If you feel you’ve been left off this list or we misspelled your name, please accept our apologies and kindly let us know so we can properly thank you.

Save the date!

Join us Saturday, March 2nd at the Hyatt Regency Austin to hear the powerful stories of children and their CASA volunteers and enjoy romantic music, thrilling live and silent auctions, locally-inspired dining by executive chef Paul French and Austin’s most elegant casino overlooking Lady Bird Lake and Austin’s sparkling skyline.

Enjoy great company, fun competition and memorable prizes at our golf classic and pre-party on May 5th and 6th! Relax and join us at the pre-party Sunday evening for delicious food and exciting raffles and auctions. On Monday, take part

in a great day of golf on The Hills Signature Course with a flighted scoring system that gives everyone a chance to take home first place.

To sponsor, donate to or register for a special event, please visit www.casatravis.org/events or call Events Manager, Jen Lester, at 512.539.2677.

CasablancaCasablanca

Meet CASA volunteer Linda CordovaLinda Cordova is a native Austinite who considers herself a “lifetime learner.” She’s been to massage therapy and pastry school and is planning to head back to school for real estate soon. She’s currently enjoying helping her Austin community as a chiropractic therapist.

Spending time with family makes up a major part of Linda’s life. She has a total of five siblings, plus her aunts, uncles and cousins and her fiancé’s family, so she stays busy with family birthdays and events.

Linda began volunteering with CASA in January 2012 and is working on her first case with a teen girl. “I have always been interested in working with youth in the foster care system. I have an interest in fostering and adopting kids myself someday,” says Linda. She was excited to begin working with teens since she’s been mentoring her teen cousins for many years.

“The whole thing has been a learning experience, learning better communication and patience and building strong relationships. It’s tough when a teen doesn’t understand the benefit of having support behind them,” shares Linda. Linda has taken her volunteering to the next level with her teen:“We volunteer together and she’s learning the value of giving back to the community.” When asked about the impact CASA volunteers have on youth she shares, “You’ve built a bond with a young person. You’ve impacted their life and wellbeing. There’s nothing that’s a better feeling to me.”

You can speak up for children who’ve been abused or neglected! Become a CASA volunteer.To learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer, visit www.casatravis.org/volunteer or contact Director of Volunteers, Sonia Kotecha, at 512.539.2668 or sonia.kotecha@casatravis.org.

C A S A O F T R AV I S C O U N T Y, I N C .

www.casatravis.org 512.459.2272Want our latest news? S ign up for emai l updates on our webs i te .

Non Profit OrgUS Postage

PAIDPermit No. 1678

Austin, TX

CASA of Travis County exists to promote and protect the best interest of children who have been abused or neglected, by training volunteers to advocate for them in courts, in schools and in our community to help them find safe, permanent and loving homes.

Board of Directors: President - Todd Lewis, Jessica Blacklock, Everett Carmody, Jamie Cotton, Alicia Duleba, Matt Hamilton, Albert Hawkins, G Herver, Debbie Holley, Kemp Kasling, April Kubik, Kirk Lewis, Lee E. Potts, John Recker, David Rubin, Andy Valenzuela.

A Project of

7701 N Lamar Blvd, Ste 301Austin, TX 78752

If you no longer wish to rece ive th is newsletter, p lease contact Sharon Spar l in at 512.539.2653 or sharon.spar l in@casatrav is .org .

Make a life-long difference According to National CASA, children with CASA volunteers are: - more likely to receive therapy, health care and education- more likely to do better in school- less likely to be bounced from one place to another- less likely to get stuck in long-term foster care- significantly more likely to reach safe, permanent homes