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How You Can Help

Volunteer

A CASA volunteer is a trained, caring, and consistent adult who is appointed by a juvenile court judge to advocate for the best interests of a child who has experienced abuse or neglect. Advocates are required to complete our 30-hour pre-service training program and submit to screening and background checks.  You must be 21 years of age or older.

Join our volunteers, part of the national CASA movement and a proven approach!

For more information, please see our YouTube channel, and email us.

Become an Advocate

How are CASA volunteers different than social workers, attorneys and others working with children in court?

> CASA volunteers are assigned to only one or two children or sibling groups at a time.

> Our volunteers stay involved on the case from the time of appointment until the child achieves permanency.

> Because of the small number of children a volunteer serves, they have more time to commit to each child.

> CASA volunteers are specially trained to consider issues relevant to the best interests of the child, which may be different than the interests of other parties or the child’s wishes. Traditionally, attorneys who represent children are required to advocate for their client’s—the child’s—wishes.

 

 

What difference do CASA volunteer advocates make?

> This opportunity allows you to have a significant impact on a child’s life and and to see that impact firsthand. Children with CASA advocates are shown to spend less time in foster care and perform better in school than children who don’t. As a CASA advocate, you are the constant support in a turbulent time in the child’s life when foster parents, judges and social workers can change at any given time.

  

Who are our volunteers, and how are they prepared?

> Regular people, from all walks of life, who have been rigorously screened and trained extensively by their local program.

> Each volunteer receives more than 30 hours of training before they work with a child, with 12 hours of continued education required yearly.

> Receive ongoing support to advocate effectively on a child’s behalf.

> On average, CASA volunteers are engaged 10-15 hours a month

How Do I Get Started as a CASA volunteer?

Click below to get more information on volunteering.

Not ready to be a volunteer advocate? No problem, stay connected by signing up for our newsletter. We'll be here when you are.

Volunteers

Our Volunteers

Our volunteers come from all walks of life and range from their twenties to their seventies.  Join them!  These are conscientious men and women who commit roughly two years to getting to know a child who has experienced abuse or neglect, and helping that child to find a safe, permanent home in which to thrive.  More information is available about how to volunteer.

The proven CASA model was praised by Nicholas Kristof in a November 2020 New York Times column; he wrote: “CASA…Volunteers provide support and advocacy for children who sometimes have no one else to trust, while helping them navigate the bureaucracy.”  (He has included the CASA model among those endorsed at KristofImpact.org.) 

Connecticut CASA Volunteers

Jenelle Aceto (Cohort 11)

Cassidy Adams (Cohort 8)

Kristen Allegro (Cohort 5)

Erica Asaro (Cohort 11)

Jennifer Barnard (Cohort 5)

Meaghan Baron (Cohort 9)

Edith Barrett (Cohort 7)

Audra Battistini (Cohort 10)

Karen Bergin (Cohort 3)

Delixandra Bermudez (Cohort 13)

Meghan Birdseye (Cohort 12)

Michelle Black (Cohort 9)

Brooke Bosley (Cohort 5)

Megan Boyle (Cohort 9)

Marie Bravo (Cohort 12)

Kristen Burns (Cohort 10)

Bryan Bystrianyk (Cohort 7)

Grace Cannon (Cohort 5)

Kathleen Carr (Cohort 1)

Nicole Carranza (Cohort 9)

Joanne Carroll (Cohort 5)

Genevieve Chase (Cohort 12)

Charlene Ciccaglione (Cohort 9)

Genna Wislocki Cipollone (Cohort 12)

Maggie Cohn (Cohort 5)

Eileen Condon (Cohort 2)

Stephanie Corrales (Cohort 11)

Lizanne Cox (Cohort 12)

Meredith Davidson (Cohort 14)

Dorothy Diaz-Hennessey (Cohort 8)

Mahoghany Dolberry (Cohort 1)

Amy Doyel (Cohort 11)

Calvin Fang (Cohort 2)

Qing Fang (Cohort 12)

Joanne Foodim (Cohort 10)

Elizabeth Frost (Cohort 8)

Andrea Gaines (Cohort 14)

Eric Gauvin (Cohort 1)

Andrew Giering (Cohort 2)

Gary Shaune Gilbert (Cohort 5)

Marianne Gilmore (Cohort 7)

Tricia Goldburn (Cohort 3)

Jenna Goldman (Cohort 5)

Tanya Goldstein (Cohort 4)

Denise Grant (Cohort 8)

Jeremy Greshin (Cohort 8)

Whitney Gutgsell (Cohort 6)

Rachel Hayes (Cohort 10)

Sujatha Herne (Cohort 10)

Warren Holcomb (Cohort 5)

Victoria Huckestein (Cohort 4)

Beth Hudson-Hankins (Cohort 11)

Dwayne Jackson (Cohort 2)

Jacqueline Johnson (Cohort 4)

Kyla Kachinsky (Cohort 4)

Daniel Kanner (Cohort 10)

Jennifer Kearns (Cohort 11)

Regina Keifer (Cohort 3)

Claire Kelley (Cohort 3)

Cory Kern (Cohort 12)

David Kinahan (Cohort 7)

Nancy Klein (Cohort 13)

Eric Krupa (Cohort 6)

Kelly Lange (Cohort 8)

Adriana Latouf (Cohort 1)

Naiomy Ledesma (Cohort 14)

Kirk Laughlin (Cohort 10)

Tiffany Lee (Cohort 4)

Wallis Leeds-Grant (Cohort 11)

Kelly Lemay (Cohort 11)

Jennifer Lemay-Sullivan (Cohort 6)

Amanda Liberman (Cohort 3)

Trish Lindberg (Cohort 13)

Patricia Liptak (Cohort 5)

Cindy Lyall (Cohort 10)

Jo Lopez-Lynch (Cohort 7)

Kellyn Lovell (Cohort 8)

Deborah Marconi (Cohort 8)

Dana Matsuzaka (Cohort 11)

Becca McGowan (Cohort 9)

Susan McKeon (Cohort 4)

Kristi Moore (Cohort 7)

Aimee Nicolich (Cohort 3)

Tonya Noble (Cohort 14)

Denise Noesi-Pinnix (Cohort 8)

Pouli Otton (Cohort 13)

Diana Pacetta-Ullmann (Cohort 6)

Celeste Pike (Cohort 10)

Larissa Pitts (Cohort 6)

Alexandra Porter (Cohort 14)

Jen Posner (Cohort 14)

Anna Preston (Cohort 4)

Nicholas Ramirez (Cohort 6)

Jeffrey Reitmeier (Cohort 2)

Ashley Rivera (Cohort 8)

Lois Robin (Cohort 13)

Whitney Rodriguez (Cohort 7)

Laura Scheckel (Cohort 13)

Tracey Scheer (Cohort 13)

Noah Schulman (Cohort 13)

Claudia Sherman (Cohort 4)

Lila Simansky (Cohort 5)

Ashley Skyers (Cohort 12)

Teresa Smith (Cohort 7)

Jonnathon Stadwick (Cohort 6)

Kristen Stegmaier (Cohort 9)

Yukari Sugiyama (Cohort 14)

Mia Sumra (Cohort 1)

Kali Tanase (Cohort 13)

Mary Beth Thompson (Cohort 9)

Kyn Tolson (Cohort 2)

Sandra Tranquilli (Cohort 1)

Leysen Tuktamyshova (Cohort 8)

Kristina Veselak (Cohort 4)

Laura Voisine (Cohort 13)

Robin Walden (Cohort 11)

Amelia Watkins (Cohort 14)

Briana Watts (Cohort 7)

Emily Werner (Cohort 13)

Deija West-Moss (Cohort 13)

Hallie Wofsy (Cohort 7)

Mary Woolsey (Cohort 2)

Destinie Wright (Cohort 12)

Liesl Wylie (Cohort 11)

...
Beyond those above who have committed to serving children directly, Connecticut CASA benefits from the service of citizens who are lending their time and expertise as members of the Board of Directors, the Advisory Council, and the Ambassadors--along with several other individuals (e.g., Bianca Herlitz-Ferguson, Erin Hill, and Varsha Tantri) who have made in-kind donations of time, thought, and skill.  Thanks to all!

CASA By The Numbers

  • Children Served Nationally

    276,000

  • National Volunteers

    96,000

  • Connecticut Children in need of Assistance

    3,268

  • Connecticut Children with CASA Advocates

    96

© 2024 Connecticut CASA
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