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Board Giving Back to the Future Teams

Christina Ochs

Please join me in changing the future for children in foster care.

I have the privilege of serving as a Board member for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cook County, which serves children in foster care by matching them with a dedicated, one-to-one CASA volunteer and has a mission to:

 

Advance foster care child advocacy for children in Cook County by ensuring that their needs are met and rights are protected; by transitioning out of foster care into permanent, safe, and loving homes as quickly as possible; and that youth aging out of foster care have the resources and support they need to live independently.

 

CASA volunteers are literally changing the future for children and youth in foster care. Studies show that children with a CASA volunteer spend less time in foster care, are less likely to reenter protective custody, and have significantly better outcomes in terms of safety, education, well-being, and mental health than their peers without a CASA volunteer.

 

It costs CASA of Cook County $2,500 to serve a child for one year—versus the tens of thousands of dollars spent by the child welfare system. Those funds ensure CASA has the wrap-around staff to train and support volunteers so they can provide the very best trauma-informed, culturally relevant advocacy for a child.

 

We are grateful for every dollar donated to ensure children in foster care know that their lives and their futures truly do matter! 

 

$2,500 allows CASA of Cook County to serve a child for 1 year

$1,250 allows CASA of Cook County to serve a child for 6 months

$625 allows CASA of Cook County to serve a child for 3 months

$208 allows CASA of Cook County to serve a child for 1 month

$52 allows CASA of Cook County to serve a child for 1 week

$6.85 allows CASA of Cook County to serve a child for 1 day