CASA For Children - CRD Victoria
This innovation also has a Project Page where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Project: CASA For Children - CRD Victoria BC Canada.
Make invisible at risk children visible by speaking up for them.Give them equal access to decision makers so outcomes reflect their needs, that is the CASA way.
About You
About You
First Name
Janet
Last Name
Bauer
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
CASA For Children - CRD Victoria
Organization Website
Organization Country
Canada, BC, Victoria
Country where this solution is creating social impact
Canada, BC, Victoria - Capital Regional District
Region in BC where your solution creates social impact
Vancouver Island.
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
Less than a year
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long have you been in operation?
Still in idea phase, but looking to launch soon
The Need: Describe the need for your solution and the size and characteristics of the community(ies) your solution is engaging
There are about 600 children in care, in a population of about 350,000 with approx. 9,000 children in care provincially.The children are not receiving the attention and time they deserve to assist in more permanent placements.The 'system' is overburdened and could benefit from some help, all the while placing children's needs at the forefront.The revolving door results in too numerous foster placements,lack of sustained resource allocation, too little follow up resulting in youth who age out who feel alienated, unprepared and unwanted.Some of these young people drift into into more 'at risk' lifestyles as they do not have a steady hand to guide them along.The youth criminal justice system has a significant number of children in care represented, some of whom should never be there.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The CasaforChildren model is all about making a 'connection', firstly with the child and then with the child's community and sharing that information. A CASA volunteer is like an investigative journalist, chasing down all leads to get at the truth for a child.This 'connection' is often the highlight for an assigned child. Maybe the final outcome is not the perfect ending but youth have reported that knowing they had someone to turn to made a significant difference to them.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include the primary activities involved in your solution.
A child may be at risk due to lack of parental oversight, as an example. CASA's focus is to always look to and support the biological family.The lack of oversight may well result from related poverty issues where parents are required to work extensively out of the home to provide for their family.Upon close and careful scrutiny, there may be solutions available unknown that surface through the CASA investigation,that supports the family and helps alleviate the'risk' concerns, thereby ensuring that the child remains in the home.Families and children with mental health issues can prove to be problem cases for the courts due to the complexity of these cases and CASA volunteers work at unearthing information, resources and supports to help guide the Courts in their decisionmaking. CASA volunteers help in problem solving.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others working to address the same needs as you and indicate what sets you apart from them.
There isn't any identical model in BC, using 'trained volunteers', to provide direct service to an individual child/family.At the provincial level, the Representative provides strong advocacy at the political level, to effect system change, Provincial co-alitions also provide advocacy, networking and collaborative opportunities.The family bar has lawyers who act as 'family advocates', in the family relation cases, initiatives are afoot to have counsel for children in matrimonial disputes to ensure their voices are heard, this is similar, but the population served is different, though such cases can overlap.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
What is impressive about the founding of this journey is that it was precisely the very people we seek to recruit as volunteers, who recognized the need.The Leadership Victoria co-hort was not made up of people who had any experience in the system of child welfare, these were 'Everday People', who GOT IT, and then went about trying to do something about it.CASAforChildren is as grass roots as it comes with the enormous benefit of an affiliation with the US organization, without which we could not have survived thus far.They have a proven track record. This model works, and it can work in any community, in any province.
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
We want to run a 2 year pilot , allowing for a start up phase along with implementation, and followed with an evaluation. The expectation would then be to operate on a permanent basis.Other jurisdictions have expressed interest in this model, particularly Vancouver and the North, Ft.St. John area.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The Family Court and Youth Justice Committee welcomed CASA as a subcommittee after hearing out presentation, has provided seed funding, the municipalities of Colwood and Metchosin have also offered support, Colwood 'in kind' and Metchosin, funding.A female sorority out of Ontario, which support US National CASA provided funding . CASA is a member of First Call and the Federation of Community Social Services Agencies, who provided free membership for a year due to our limited but well spent resources.CASA has aligned with the Caring for First Nations Society to enlist their assistance in the development of culturally relevant training materials.The Native Freindship Center has provided temporary Board meeting space.CASA has taken the lead and started the conversation to establish a 'local network' for kids in and from care, with the guidance and support of the Federation of Youth in Care Network.Casa received funding from the Victoria Foundation to assist with this.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
Realistically, it would take 9 months to a year to recruit and train the 20 volunteers for the pilot, then the pilot runs for 2 years and is evaluated.The expectation is that over the years more volunteers would be recruited to serve more children, remembering that not all children in care need a volunteer. There is a ripple effect to this approach, which is hard to measure, but the more collaborative approach consistently used can result in greater problem at the front end.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
funding for the revision of the National CASA training materials, to Canadianize them and to ensure they are culturally relevant
Task 2
funding for the recruitment and training of 20 volunteers for the pilot phase
Task 3
locating office space, likely co-locating with a like minded NGO
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
continuing networking, outreach and media exposure to improve opportunities to ensure ongoing sustainability
Task 2
assisting the local youth in care network to get established and providing leadership opportunities in Victoria for them
Task 3
working with the judiciary on issues as they arise
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
We are the 1st provisional international member of National CASA.The Family Court and Youth Justice committee gives us access to all 13 municipalities and the Courts, which entitles us to issue tax receipts for donations without as yet being a 'registered charity.We are strongly supported by the Caring For First Nations Society,The Metis Community Services Society,The Mary Manning Center,The Native Friendship Center, the family lawyers subsection of the CBA, members of First Call and the Federation of Community Social Services agency, as well as The Federation of Youth in Care Network.
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your solution? If so, where and why?
By affilllating with the Family Court committee which is a statutory body allows for the replication of the model throughout the province where such committees exist, that is the long term goal.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
The audits and evaluations from National CASA's over 30 years of service delivery speaks for itself.The smile of a child when you have been there for them, pretty simple really.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
CASA needs to develop a good working relationship with the Ministry of Children and Families recognizing that our goals are essentially the same, but if need be we will stand strong for the child, all the while recognizing that collaborative problem solving is the preferred approach.
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 | 47 weeks ago jayb updated this Competition Entry. |
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| 48 weeks ago Lacey Williams said: Hi Amanda! Thanks so much for connecting with us on here. We are just in the beginning stages of updating the website and getting more ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 50 weeks ago jayb updated this Competition Entry. |
| 51 weeks ago Amanda Armstrong said: Hi there, I'd love to learn more information about your idea. Could you post some more information? about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 54 weeks ago jayb updated this Competition Entry. |
| 54 weeks ago jayb submitted this idea. |
