GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Wednesday is a special day to wear blue. It's CASA's "I Am for the Child Day," to help raise awareness for kids who've been abused and neglected, but the day is also a chance to get you thinking about how you can help out.
"We're anticipating an influx of children coming into care as schools start coming into session, as kids go back to school," said Kelly Schwartz, CASA's associate director of program and administration.
CASAis a group that trains adult volunteers to support kids under the legal protection of the court system. They said last year there were more than 7,000 kids in the welfare.
"With child abuse and neglect, when we look at the statistics in Wisconsin and it's pretty similar across the nation," Schwartz said. "Neglect is a lot more prevalent than child abuse, however what that means is many kids are coming into care that are experiencing both. My best advice to you, as community members, as citizens, as people who love our children, is if you see something, say something."
With Wednesday's awareness, they're hoping more people will become interested in being a CASA advocate. To help you understand this program's impact, in Wisconsin last year, CASA served 935 kids with 545 advocates, but with more than 7,000 kids in welfare in Wisconsin and more than 400,000 across the U.S., the organization is in need of a little help.
Roughly 1 in 7 Wisconsin kids are eligible for an advocate but won't get one because there aren't enough volunteers. It is a time-consuming process. Leaders say it requires 30 hours of training, continuous education, and meeting with your child about once a week, but say it's worth it. If you don't have time for that, they do have other volunteer opportunities that require less time.
CASA serves 12 counties in Wisconsin, including Brown, Marinette, Manitowoc, and Outagamie. Because as their motto goes, 'every child in the child welfare system has a voice,' Wednesday, they're encouraging everyone to wear blue to support our most vulnerable kids, and post on social media using #IAmForTheChildDay.
