About CASA of Chautauqua Co.
Staff
Kathy Park
Program Coordinator
Deb Pacos
Case Advocate Supervisor
History
In 2002, Family Court Judge, the Honorable Judith S. Claire attended a judicial conference where she heard about Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). She returned home and reached out to a number of human service agencies in an effort to get a CASA program organized in Chautauqua Co.
In October, 2002, a call was made out to the community to attend a meeting at the Supreme Court courtroom in Mayville, NY in order to discuss ways of establishing a CASA program in Chautauqua County. A standing room only crowd showed up to learn more about Court Appointed Special Advocates for children. Nearly 100 interested parties including Assemblywoman Cathy Young, County Executive Mark Thomas, local judges, attorneys, health care professionals, teachers, parents and local residents. From this group, a 28 member Planning Committee was formed.
In December, 2002, the first meeting of the Planning Committee was held. Eighteen people attended and this would form the core planning group. At this meeting, four task groups were formed:
Organizational Structure
This group was chaired by Beverly Ungerer and was responsible for the basic structure of the organization.
Establishing the Board
This group was chaired by Lisa Lane-Gniewecki and was responsible for the determination of the Board structure and creating the support material for the Board. Their responsibility also included the nomination of the initial Board.
The Power of Image
This group was chaired by Loretta Smith and was responsible for educating the public about this project.
Funding the Program
This group was chaired by Donna Vanstrom and was responsible for securing funding necessary to implement this program.
On January 17, 2003, The Planning Committee met again. At this meeting, the mission was finalized as stating: CASA of Chautauqua County, an independent not-for-profit organization, trains and supports approved volunteers who advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected youth in the courts in an effort to find them safe permanent homes.
It was also determined that CASA of Chautauqua County become their own 501(c) (3) organization. The first step was becoming incorporated.
In August of 2003, after many good people donated their time, energy and great ideas, the CASA Board of Directors met for the first time.
The first class of CASA volunteers was trained in November and December of 2003 and was sworn in on February 2, 2004. Four of the advocate volunteers accepted cases and began advocating on behalf of abused and neglected children.
In February, 2004, Donna Vanstrom, Executive Director of Family Services was awarded the first annual Donna Vanstrom Volunteer of the Year Award for her dedication in attaining CASA of Chautauqua Co., Inc. organized and operational. CASA of Chautauqua Co., Inc holds a Volunteer Recognition Dinner and Awards Dinner every April.
In 2006, a new Rule of the Chief Judge, Judith Kaye to standardize the use of CASA programs in the New York State courts was compiled. Chief Judge Kaye established statewide standards and administrative policies. The rule also created the Unified Court System’s (UCS) CASA Assistance Program as an administrative unit within the Office of Court Administration to provide programmatic guidelines and manage a grant program to provide state funding to the NYS CASA network.
In May, 2007 the CASA of Chautauqua Co., Inc. office relocated to the new Family Court facility at 2 Academy St., Suite 5, Mayville, NY 14757.
Funding
CASA of Chautauqua Co., Inc. welcomes any and all donations.
2007 Funders
New York State Unified Court System/Office of Court Administration
United Way of Southern Chautauqua County
Interest on Lawyers Account
Sheldon Foundation
Cummins Foundation
Holmberg Foundation
Jessie Smith Darrah Foundation
Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation
Creche
Food Is Good, Inc.
Lakeshore Savings and Loan
Fredonia Beaver Club
Fessenden, Laumer & DeAngelo
Brautigam & Brautigam, LLP
Sherry Bjork, Esq.
John R. & Carol Samuelson, Esq.
Barb Kubera
Kiwanis Club of Jamestown
Diana Lodge #114
The Fortnightly
Cummins Employees Combined Charities
Erickson, Webb, Scolton & Hajdu
Michael Sullivan, Esq.
Chautauqua Region Community Foundation - Axel W. Carlson Memorial Fund
Brenda Johnson
WCA Care & Share Fund
Bob & Carol Reeder
Michelle Ballachino
Helen E. Weaver
Shawbucks, Inc.
Jamestown Awning, Inc.
Westfield Lodge #118, Loyal Order of the Moose
Lake Chautauqua Memorial, VFW Post 8647
Allstate, William & Delores Farr
Lakewood Women of the Moose Chapter 2237
John LaMancuso, M.D.
Hadley & Ellen Weinberg
Ranjit & Sarojini Laha
Patrick & Karen Collins
Donna Vanstrom
Cindy Aronson
Beth Oakes
Tim & Betsy Shults
Lyndon & Melanie Gritters
Nadia Geleil
Marlene Garone, M.D.
Lane Women's Health Group, LLC
Sinclairville Supermarket, Inc.
CASA of Chautauqua County, Inc. would like to thank the many other individual and corporate donors. Without your assistance, the abused and neglected children of the county would go without having their voices in heard in court.
Partially funded by The Unified Court System of New York State, the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County, Inc. and the Interest on Lawyers Account (IOLA).
National CASA Association
Mission Statement
The mission of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association, together with its state and local members, is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in safe, permanent homes.
History of National CASA Association
Concerned of making decisions about abused and neglected children's lives without sufficient information. Seattle, Washington Superior Court Judge David Soukup recruited volunteers from the community and trained them to speak up for abused and neglected children in his court. He made a request for volunteers; 50 citizens responded, and that was the start of the CASA movement.
Judge Soukup's Seattle program was so successful that soon, judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. In 1982, the National CASA Association, Inc., was established to serve as an umbrella organization for the growing number of programs in the country. National CASA provides information, technical assistance, research and training to more than 948 CASA programs across the country. More than 50,000 women and men serve as volunteers in these programs, sometimes known by other names, such as Guardian Ad Litem and Voices for Children. Since the inception of CASA advocacy, volunteers have helped well over 1,000,000 children find safe, permanent homes in which they can thrive.
In 1991, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with the passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act. the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was amended to include Court Appointed Special Advocates as guardian ad litems or voices for children in court.
New York State CASA Association
Mission Statement
CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State provides support to New York State CASA programs that utilize trained community volunteers to advocate on behalf of children in the court system. The Association works to promote, assist, and support the development, growth, and continuation of CASA programs in the state of New York that agree to follow the standards set by the National CASA Association, the Office of Court Administration, and this Association.
History of the New York State CASA Association
CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State was founded in 1991 under the Task Force on Permanency Planning to promote and support trained community volunteer advocacy programs. The role of CASA programs is to assist Family Courts in making crucial decisions affecting children who have been abused and neglected. The Association incorporated in 1995 as an independent not-for-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization. The staff and board of CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State have current and past affiliations with Family Court, government agencies, child advocacy organizations, social service, legal and mental health providers, and community businesses.
Today, CASA is one of the fastest growing community service projects in the country. On the national level, CASA is supported by the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; the American Bar Association; and the Office of Juvenile Justice andDelinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice.