Dear Moreno Valley Residents:
Each May, National Foster Care Month brings awareness to the more than 400,000 American children in foster care and encourages more people to get involved in the lives of these children as foster parents, volunteers, mentors and many other ways.
This week, the Moreno Valley City Council will honor the non-profit Voices of Children for their dedication to helping foster care children in Moreno Valley and throughout Riverside County. The Council will declare May 15, 2018 to be “Voices for Children CASA Volunteer Day” throughout the City of Moreno Valley.
The "M" on Box Springs Mountain will be illuminated with blue lights from dusk until midnight on May 20 to commemorate National Foster Care Month.
Voices for Children was founded in 1980, and is committed to the belief that every child in foster care deserves a safe, caring, and permanent home. In June 2016, Voices for Children began serving foster children with volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs).
California law allows the Juvenile Court to designate one organization per county as its official CASAs program. In Riverside County, that organization is Voices for Children.
CASAs are trained volunteer advocates who investigate the circumstances of a child who has been abused or neglected, develop a relationship with the child, and make best interest recommendations to the Juvenile Court.
CASAs visit where the child lives, where they go to school, and observe most aspects of the child’s life. CASAs also review medical records, talk to therapists, meet with family members, and write a Court report every six months to provide information that the Court might not otherwise have.
Voices for Children has already provided CASAs to more than 300 foster children in Riverside County and its goal is to eventually provide a CASA volunteer to every foster child who needs one.
As your Mayor, I would like to thank these selfless volunteers for their dedication to advocating for the best interest of our children.
For more information about the CASAs program or Voices for Children’s role in assisting foster children in Riverside County, please contact their Riverside County team at rcvolunteer@speakupnow.org or (951) 472-9301.