SMETHPORT — Court Appointed Special Advocates of McKean County has scheduled the next volunteer training session to begin on Thursday, March 25, 2021 from 4 to 7 p.m.
Sessions will occur via Zoom and will be held for 9 consecutive weeks, ending on Thursday, May 20th.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers are specially trained citizen-volunteers who are appointed by the Juvenile Dependency Court to advocate for abused and neglected children. Prospective volunteers must be at least 21 years of age plus undergo background checks and fingerprinting. Candidates complete a volunteer application, participate in an interview and complete 30 hours of training.
“If you have ever thought about being a volunteer for vulnerable children, CASA of McKean County is the volunteer experience for you,” according to Suzy Meyer-Page, executive director of CASA of McKean County.
Once volunteers are successfully trained, they will be appointed to a case involved in the dependency system and will remain with that child until his or her case is permanently resolved. CASA volunteers are asked to be available for a minimum of 18 months.
It is not too late to sign up for the training session starting March 25th. Anyone interested in becoming a CASA volunteer should contact CASA of McKean County at 568-2170 or by email at casa@mckeancountypa.org. An on-line application can also be filled out via this link: https://pa-mckean.evintosolutions.com/VolunteerApplication/.
