The Paulding Juvenile Court welcomed newest CASA volunteer, Kari Morhart at a swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, August 23. Kari is a local Paulding Country resident and chose to become a CASA volunteer to help advocate for the children in the Court.
CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. The CASA program utilizes its employees to train community volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse or neglect. These volunteers work to ensure the best interest of the child is met both in the courtroom and community. To do so, CASA volunteers work with Job and Family Services caseworkers, teachers, and family members. They also meet with the child at least once a month to monitor case progress. The goals of a CASA volunteer are to ensure the voice of a child is heard in court and to help work towards family reunification or a safe, permanent placement. CASA and Guardians ad Litem can be deployed in a case to assess and advocate for the best interests of children, most often in child abuse, neglect, and dependency cases.
Northwest Ohio CASA is a non-profit organization that originated in Henry County in 1991 as Henry County CASA and expanded into Defiance and Williams Counties in 2017 under a grant from Ohio CASA.
Ohio CASA provided Northwest Ohio CASA with a grant for expansion into Paulding County. The CASA program is a national program in 49 states and serves over 270,000 children annually, with Ohio having more than 50 counties that utilize the CASA program.
