Essex CASA to host Info Night at West Orange Public Library

NEWARK, N.J. - Jan. 8, 2016 - PRLog -- (NEWARK, NJ), (Court Appointed Special Advocates) CASA for Children of Essex County will host an information meeting at the West Orange Public Library on Thursday, February 4 at 6:30 PM for citizens interested in learning more about serving as an advocate for the county’s abused and neglected children in foster care.

“It’s really remarkable what progress our volunteers can make for the children currently living in foster care,” Rakeem Mosey, Volunteer Recruiter said.  “Some of these children change placements so frequently that critical things regarding their health care and education often get overlooked.  Our volunteers help prevent these things from falling by the wayside.”

The organization would like to invite local residents to this event to hear from CASA staff and volunteers about what it takes to make a difference for a child in foster care as a court appointed special advocate.

“We host our information meetings about five times a year in different neighborhoods of the county to draw support and raise awareness from the community about the work of our program,” Mosey said. “We are an organization that relies upon the talents of our committed volunteers to help judges make decisions about what’s best for the children we’re referred to assist.”

In the state of New Jersey, Essex County maintains the highest number of children in foster care with a number that exceeds 2,000 year after year.  The local chapter of CASA was able to recruit enough advocates to serve nearly 600 of those children in the previous year but there’s a need for more volunteers to increase the number of children receiving the benefits of a court appointed special advocate.

“Our focus at Essex CASA is always on addressing the demand and making sure more children in need can receive a CASA advocate working on their behalf, representing their needs and best interests to the Judge,” Karen Burns, Executive Director said.  “In order for that to happen, we need more citizen-volunteers to step up.”

For more information, visit: www.casaessex.org or contact: Rakeem Mosey at (973)-622-4831