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by Karen Fetter
There comes a turning point
in everyone’s life.
Something is learned that
changes a person forever,
whether they are looking for
it or not. The decision then
becomes: what do I do about
it?
This is exactly what
happened to Judge
Christopher Feliciani about
four years ago; after he was
assigned to the family court
division and became the
administrative judge of the
children’s bureau.
Judge Feliciani came upon a
case of a four-year-old girl
who had been repeatedly
raped by her father. The
final straw came when she
was so badly abused that she
nearly died from loss of
blood. The judge took the
file home with him and read
the entire case from front
to back. Everyone involved
in the case, from the social
workers and attorneys to the
previous judge did what they
were supposed to do, but
somehow this little
four-year-old was still in a
horrible situation.
This girl and her plight
became a turning point for
Judge Feliciani. He
discussed the case with
other judges at a judicial
conference and became aware
of a program of Court
Appointed Special Advocates
(CASA). This program is a
volunteer-based organization
that provides a voice on
behalf of the abused and
neglected children. These
volunteers research the best
interests of children
involved in Family Court
proceedings. They submit
their recommendations and
help ensure that all the
needs of each child are met.
CASA provides another set of
eyes and ears for the judge.
“I knew this system could
make a difference in
Westmoreland County,” said
Judge Christopher Feliciani.
“There is a reason I am in
the position that I am. The
story of the abused young
girl gripped my soul. I
wanted to do something that
can make a difference, and I
feel CASA will do that. If
this program helps only one
child, then it is still
worth it to me.”
************
With the energy and
persistence of Judge
Feliciani and others in the
community, the CASA program
got started in Westmoreland
County in March 2007 with
the hiring of its first
executive director: Rachael
Lord. Prior to the program’s
start, Feliciani founded a
steering committee and
formed a board of directors.
“Now is when the community
can become involved to make
CASA a success in
Westmoreland County,” said
Rachael Lord, CASA of
Westmoreland, Inc.’s
Executive Director. “Abuse
happens everywhere. The more
volunteers we have for this
program the safer children
will be.”
You do not have to be
specially trained or have a
social work background. All
you need to do is complete
an application process and
have Pennsylvania State
Police and child abuse
clearances. After a personal
interview and reference
check, you, as a potential
volunteer, will be trained
for 30-35 hours. If you are
approved to become a CASA
volunteer, you will be sworn
in by the court and assigned
a CASA case. Then the real
work begins.
Volunteers are assigned to
one child and are expected
to follow that child through
until he or she is in a safe
and permanent environment.
You will meet with the
child, talk to teachers,
professionals, and parents.
You will document all of
your conversations and
provide a factual court
report to be submitted prior
to every court hearing. A
CASA volunteer offers an
additional perspective on
the case that may be more
observant simply because the
volunteer is able to
concentrate on one case
(CASA volunteers typically
handle one case at a time
but may handle more based on
experience).
A child’s welfare could be
saved by just having an
observant CASA volunteer
assigned to his or her case.
Every day in Pennsylvania,
children are physically,
sexually, and emotionally
abused and/or neglected.
Many of these children need
to establish a permanent
home. You can be a child’s
voice in court. A typical
volunteer spends about 8-12
hours per month on a case
and the results could change
a child’s life forever. This
is an opportunity to make a
difference in the life of an
abused/neglected child.
If you feel you don’t have
the time to dedicate to
becoming a volunteer, there
are many other ways to help.
You can become a friend of
CASA, assisting with
fundraising projects,
community activities or make
a financial contribution to
the organization (either
contributing yourself or by
organizing a workplace or
organizational giving
campaign).
The CASA office is in need
of donations of equipment,
such as a color printer,
office furniture, and other
supplies. In addition,
in-kind donations of
services such as printing
and advertising are also
greatly appreciated as the
CASA office begins to set up
its first training class for
volunteers.
Currently, CASA is looking
for a community organization
that would be willing to
sponsor the first class of
volunteers (anticipated to
begin in July). This means
“adopting” the class of
volunteers and providing
funding for the printing
costs of the training
manuals or having the
manuals printed by your
organization. Your
organization could also
provide training space,
refreshments, certificates,
etc. and the name of your
organization would be listed
inside the volunteer
manuals.
CASA of Westmoreland, Inc.
is a non-profit organization
that receives no state or
federal funding and relies
primarily on private
foundations, grants, and
individual donors providing
financial support in order
to operate. Among those who
have already been extremely
supportive of CASA are our
County Commissioners: Tom
Bayla, Tom Seraso, Phil
Light, and the late Terry
Marolt.
The commissioners donated
office space in the
Westmoreland County
Courthouse building,
computers, phones, and
website support. Start-up
funding from the program
came from an individual
donor from Unity Township
and a grant from the
Stounton Farm Foundation.
John Garlow, President of
Ford Business Equipment
donated a printer/fax/copier
machine for the office once
he saw that the office was
in need of one.
CASA also needs to inform
the public as much as
possible of its mission and
goals for the community’s
children. If you belong to a
group or association you
could consider having a
guest speaker from CASA make
a presentation about this
amazing program. CASA was
founded on the belief that
people from all walks of
life can be trained to be an
advocate for a child
involved in the child
welfare system. This could
be one way you help share
this information.
Why should you support CASA?
Cases that have CASAs
assigned spend less time in
court and less time in
foster care. Judges say that
CASA children have a better
chance of finding a
permanent home and receiving
needed services than
non-CASA children. In
Pennsylvania there are only
18 counties out of 67 that
have a CASA program. By
supporting CASA of
Westmoreland, Inc. you will
ensure the success of the
program and its success in
serving abused and neglected
children.
If you want to make a
difference and turn one
child’s fear into hope,
consider becoming a CASA
volunteer. For more
information or to complete a
volunteer application, visit
the website at
www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/CASA
or call the CASA office at
724-850-687.
CASA of Westmoreland,
Inc.
Westmoreland County
Courthouse
2 N. Main Street
Greensburg, PA 15601
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