CASA: “Lift up a child’s voice. A child’s life.”

Published 5:00 pm Friday, September 27, 2013

Melody Higgins, foster parent and employee with Tri- County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), spoke at September’s Moody Chamber of Commerce meeting. Higgins spoke on the program, the needs of children in the program and what Moody and St. Clair citizens can do to help these children. 

The Tri-County CASA Higgins works with includes children from St. Clair, Talladega and Calhoun counties. These children are taken from homes for many different reasons including abuse and neglect. Each child has his or her own, very complicated story. And because of that, each case needs to be examined closely in order to determine what is best for each specific situation. 

Higgins said that while St. Clair is blessed with very diligent, hardworking and caring social workers, they are overloaded with cases. And that is where CASA volunteer work comes into play. 

According to Higgins CASA volunteer work includes 32 hours of training, which teaches trainees how to interview and interact with CASA children. CASA asks that volunteers work a manageable ten hours a month after their training to help these children have a smooth transition and lighten the load for social workers.

Higgins was sure to mention, however, that being a volunteer does not make one a social worker. Higgins said that a CASA volunteer simply becomes an advocate. The volunteer works closely with lawyers, biological family, social workers and most importantly, the child, to determine what will best satisfy the child’s needs. 

Higgins continuously emphasized the importance of volunteers and their role in the CASA community. “I don’t want them (the children) to be lost in system, and I don’t want them to become a statistic,” said Higgins.

If you’re interested in helping this population, CASA will be starting a training program in Oct.  For more information or to express interest in volunteering call (205) 763-0070.