Fall training for CASA advocates begins Sept. 24

The 30-hour fall training for Court Appointed Special Advocates begins Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson Center.

CASA advocates represent the interest of children in the 23rd Judicial District in court proceedings when the children become displaced because child abuse and neglect charges have been filed.

They conduct investigations involving fact-finding interviews with the child and the child's family, social workers with the Department of Social Services, mental health service providers, school staff and other professionals involved in the child's case. They also prepare written reports for the judge and are regularly called to testify in court regarding their recommendations.

CASA is one of three programs of Children's Trust Roanoke Valley, which is committed to eliminating the trauma of child abuse through prevention and by providing continuous support for children through investigation and court proceedings.

After the spring training, the judicial district had 34 advocates whom judges could assign in such cases.

At the end of the eight-week training, advocates are teamed with a CASA staff supervisor and will be sworn in by the court, after which judges in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts in the 23rd Judicial District will be able to make CASA assignments for legal proceedings when abuse and neglect have been found, to determine a child's permanent home placement.

For more information about being an advocate or about the fall training, contact Holly Peters, CASA program supervisor, at 344-3579, ext. 22.

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Roanoke Area Ministries' efforts to provide short-term emergency financial assistance to many needy Roanoke Valley residents got a recent boost.

The agency at 824 Campbell Ave. S.W. received $5,500 to help the needy, thanks to a donation of baseball game tickets and a matching contribution from Modern Woodmen of America.

When RAM, a daytime shelter, received 500 tickets to the Salem Red Sox's July 24 game from an anonymous donor, MWA, a fraternal organization, agreed to match whatever was raised from the tickets up to $2,500.

RAM sold the tickets for $6 each, raising $3,000 more than a than a week in advance of the game.

RAM provides food and other assistance people in the Roanoke Valley who are having problems paying utilities and meeting other needs. Its primary source of emergency assistance funding is the annual Good Neighbors Fund, sponsored by The Roanoke Times.

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