| Mary Hardbarger

mary.hardbarger@roanoke.com, 381-1679

CHRISTIANSBURG -- If you wander down West Main Street today to browse through a few vendors at the Kiwanis Wilderness Trail Festival, you may notice several children standing calmly in front of the NRVCares building.

Don't be alarmed by their presence, as they may seem a little odd and out of place.

They're not real.

These life-size cutouts are part of the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association campaign "Forgotten Children."

On May 19, 2008, there were 850 of these cutouts of foster children displayed in front of the Washington Monument in the nation's capital.

Each day for five days, 850 additional cutouts were added to the group to account for the 4,250 children who entered foster care during the workweek.

Ten of these cutouts will be on display at various locations in the New River Valley for the next week, representing the 10 years that CASA of the NRV has been advocating for abused and neglected children in the area.

According to information provided by Beverly Walters, executive director of NRVCares, an average of 10 children per 1,000 children in the population of the valley were found to be abused or neglected during fiscal year 2008.

The neglect rate for the state of Virginia -- 3.3 per 1,000 children.

Walters attributes the area's high rate of neglect to generational and widespread poverty and the factors resulting from it.

"The majority of the cases that we've seen stemmed from substance abuse," Walters said.

Neglect, as described under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, can range from serious physical or emotional harm to sexual abuse and is most often detected by neighbors, family members of those neglected or doctors. CASA advocated for 115 neglected children in the previous fiscal year.

There are currently 35 CASA volunteers in the NRV, and Sherry Kramer, CASA program director, is hoping that number will increase.

"We're trying to bring more awareness of foster care to the area," Kramer said. "Many people don't realize how many children live in neglect."

At any given moment, there are 7,786 children in foster care in Virginia, which has the highest rate in the nation of children turning 18 without ever finding a permanent home.

Both Kramer and Walters hope CASA's newest campaign will have a big impact on the community and the state, encouraging others to become advocates.

"We want to focus on the positive things CASA can do and what the community can be doing right now to prevent neglect," Walters said.

Some advice given by Walter to prevent neglect is to offer to baby-sit or help a child with homework, share helpful, nonjudgmental advice with a parent or caregiver, and if you believe neglect is occurring, call 800-CHILDREN.

"Our ultimate goal is for a child to achieve permanence through adoption or a safe return home," Walters said.

For more information on what you can do to prevent neglect through NRVCares and CASA, visit www.nrvcasa.org.