CASA of Peoria County needs volunteers

CASA of Peoria County is in need of male and minority volunteers to be advocates for abused and neglected children in the county.

To that end the public is invited to attend an informational meeting hosted by CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Peoria County from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6, at Two25 in The Mark Twain Hotel, 225 NE Adams Street. Light snacks will be provided.

For people interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, please note that the next training session will be from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3, 2014, at the Detweiller Center, 809 W. Detweiller Drive in Peoria. Classes are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Feb. 1, and from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on remaining days. Meals will be provided.

CASA of Peoria County is a non-profit organization that recruits and trains community volunteers, who are appointed by judges to be independent fact finders and to speak up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in Peoria County. The program's volunteers work with the court system and the Department of Children and Family Services to ensure that all of the necessary information is presented to the court to allow the judge to make the best decision possible.

CASA programs have been successfully implemented across the United States and in several other communities in Illinois. "The program aims to reduce the amount of time children spend in foster care and help ensure that the child's best interest is served in the court process," the organization said in a news release.

CASA's mission is "To give a child a CASA volunteer is to give them a voice. To give them a voice is to give them hope, and to give them hope is to give them the world."

For more information about the informational meeting or about CASA, call (309) 669-2939.