Christmas Party for Foster Care Children to be Hosted by CASA of Northwest Arkansas

The event will take place on Thursday, December 16, 2010 from 6-8 pm

Nearly 400 children in Northwest Arkansas will spend Christmas in foster care this year. The employees, directors, and volunteers of CASA of NWA are working diligently, along with the generous donations from community individuals and corporations, to insure that all of these children have a special Christmas.

CASA of NWA will host the fourth annual Christmas Party, which will be the pick-up place for all gifts for area foster children. The children and their families will get to take part in games, arts and crafts projects, enter to win door prizes, and enjoy holiday food and fun, including a visit from Santa.

Many companies and individuals have provided toys, clothing, food, and monetary support for this event, including, but not limited to, Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, Tyson, Cisco, St. Joe's Catholic Church, Springdale Holiday Inn and Convention Center, and many others. With the charitable giving of these businesses, along with many other family contributions, the Christmas Party is projected to be a success. The child or the foster parent of the child completed a “Child Wish List” to report what they needed/wanted for Christmas. Each wish list has been carefully filled by local individuals, families, companies, civic groups, and churches.

For more information please contact CASA of Northwest Arkansas, Inc. in Springdale at 725-2213 or online at www.nwacasa.org.

Terra Studio's Grace & Gratitude to Benefit NWA CASA

Be sure to stop by Angel Fest THIS Saturday and Sunday at Terra Studios! The event will showcase the talent of Northwest Arkansas's women musicians. Also, Terra Studios, makers of the original Bluebird of Happiness, will introduce their newest product, Grace and Gratitude, pink and blue glass angels created especially for local charities. A percentage of the sales of these angels will benefit local non-profits that work for children in need, including CASA of Northwest Arkansas!

Sponsor a CASA Child This Christmas!

There will be over 375 children in foster care this Christmas in Washington, Madison, Benton and Carroll Counties. These children are no different from our own children and grandchildren—they look forward to Christmas morning with great anticipation as a day to give and receive and spend time with loved ones. But unlike our own children and grandchildren they may have lost their families, friends, teachers, clothing, and favorite toys. Every child deserves a Christmas morning filled with joy, and we need your help to make that happen for the children in foster care in Northwest Arkansas.

CASA of Northwest Arkansas is committed to fulfilling the wishes and needs of every child in foster care this Christmas season. You can help us in this great and worthwhile endeavor by sponsoring a child’s wish list. Sponsorship is easy, and it has a huge impact on the life of a child in foster care. Join us in giving these deserving children a Christmas morning filled with joy! Contact Shelley Hart at 479-725-2213 or shelley@nwacasa.org for more information about how to sponsor a child.

CASA Welcomes New Advocate Supervisor

Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of Northwest Arkansas is excited to introduce you to the newest edition of our staff, advocate supervisor Vicky Robinson. Vicky is a native Texan who has over twenty years of experience working in Human Services with individuals and children diagnosed with mental health issues in Northeast Texas. Prior to her position as advocate supervisor she also worked in Benton County as a family service worker for the Department of Human Services for a year and a half.

Vicky will be one of two advocate supervisors in charge of Washington County working at NWA CASA. As an advocate supervisor Vicky helps advocates by discussing cases, attending court, helping with reports, and being there to support our advocates in any way that is needed. Vicky has a passion for public service, and she is excited to use her experience working in Human Services to assist our advocates in providing quality representation for abused and neglected children in Northwest Arkansas.

Vicky lives on a farm in South Fayetteville that has been in the family for three generations. She has two grown daughters, a soon to be son who has completed basic training and is on active duty for the National Guard, and four grandchildren. Also part of her family are three Texas Longhorns that she brought with her to Fayetteville, all named after cities in Texas.

One Hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of house you lived in... what kind of car you drove...what your bank balance was...but what will matter is that you were important in the life of a child. -Forest Witcraft

Buffalo Wild Wings and CASA of NWA

Don't forget to eat at any NWA Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesday, October 20 fro 12pm-2pm and 6pm-9pm!! Bring in the voucher below and CASA of NWA will receive 10% of all food sales!

How Can Wraparound Services Help Your CASA Case?

Wraparound services: What are they and how can they help me while working my CASA case?

Thursday November 4, 2010

6:00pm to 9:00pm

Springdale Police Department

201 Spring Street Springdale, AR. 72764

With Guest Speakers:

Christina Westminster-DHS and Terri Stigall-Daysprings Behavioral Health

***Volunteer Credit of 3 hours towards yearly 12 hours of required training/CEU's. (Continuing Education Units)

Dinner will be provided.

RSVP by Tuesday November 2, 2010

Shelley@nwacasa.org or 725-2213.

Hope to see you there!

Eating Wings for CASA

Get Your Voucher HERE

Increases in Child Abuse Linked to Unemployment

A recent study has linked recessionary unemployment to increases in child abuse. The study, conducted by Dr. Robert Sege the director of the child protective team at Boston Medical Center, has found that for every 1% increase in unemployment there was an increase of reported child abuse of 0.5 for every 1,000 children one year later. Dr. Sege explains that “Over the 18 year period [of the study], when employment went up or down, maltreatment went up or down with a one year delay. So the change in unemployment this year predicts child maltreatment next year.”

This relationship is extremely significant. Research has shown that the adverse effects of childhood abuse and neglect often are carried well into adulthood in the forms of mental illnesses and chronic conditions such as heart disease. Of equally important concern, it has been shown that during recessionary times, though the government increases funding for services such as Medicaid and unemployment benefits, spending for child protective services is often cut.

“There are long term consequences of childhood abuse and neglect,” says Sege. “Lifelong effects.” Because of these effects and the link between child abuse and unemployment, the study shows that during tough economic times it is especially important to continue supporting organizations and services that protect children and help families.

Read the full article: http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/04/side-effect-of-the-recession-an-increase-in-child-abuse/?artId=11127?contType=blog?chn=us

CASA Volunteers at Bikes Blues and Barbeque

If you were in Northwest Arkansas this past weekend than you should know about Bikes, Blues and Barbecue. This event was almost impossible to miss: thousands of participants came to downtown Fayetteville for one of the top motorcycle rallies in the country. What you might not have known, though, is our local NWA CASA was part of an integral group of volunteers that made this event happen. The staff at CASA worked this past weekend at Bikes, Blues and BBQ for a total of over 100 combined hours! We would also like to thank Bikes, Blues and BBQ for their continued support of local charities in Northwest Arkansas. Thanks to a generous $3,000 donation from the rally CASA will be able to continue to recruit and support advocates for abused children in our community!

Shelley, Crystal, and Brandy volunteering at Bikes, Blues and BBQ

KNWA Features CASA in Doing Good Segment

Thank you to KNWA for raising awareness about Child Advocacy in Northwest Arkansas! CASA of NWA was featured in KNWA's Doing Good segment, a segment aired every Monday night in September highlighting organizations that are "doing good" in our community. CASA Executive Director Crystal Vickmark and volunteer advocate Ron Autry were both interviewed about the work that CASA is doing in Northwest Arkansas. There was also a follow up interview this morning with Ron Autry and Director of Development and Marketing Shea Nabholz about ways to get involved with Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. If you missed the feature last night or follow up this morning you can still watch a clip of the segment online at KNWA's website!

Doing Good Video Clip

Follow Up Interviews

Doing Good: CASA - NWAHomePage.com

Doing Good: CASA - NWAHomePage.com

Tune in tomorrow at 6:30 AM to see CASA of NWA on the KNWA Morning Show

In Arkansas alone 9,289 children were victims of child abuse in 2008. That number represents 13.2% of all children in Arkansas.

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services; Child Welfare Information Gateway: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm08/cm08.pdf

Did you know…?

• CASA volunteers spend significantly more time in contact with a child than a paid guardian ad litem.
• When a CASA volunteer is assigned, a higher number of services are ordered for children and families.
• A child with a CASA volunteer is more likely to be adopted.
• A child with a CASA volunteer is less likely to reenter the child welfare system. The proportion of reentries is consistently reduced by half.

Source: “Evidence of Effectiveness,” http://casaforchildren.org/

Advocacy has a proven, positive impact on the lives of children victimized by abuse. You can help abused children in your own community by becoming an advocate or supporting CASA of Northwest Arkansas!

Back to School Bag Distribution

Thank you so much to Sam’s Club, Local NWA Businesses, and all the Volunteers that donated their resources and time to make our Back to School Bag Distribution such a huge success! Because of generous donations from Sam’s Club we were able to fill almost 300 bags of new back to school clothes and shoes for every child in foster care in Northwest Arkansas. We are so appreciative of local NWA businesses and volunteers that partnered with us to pull off this event—together we can have a great impact on the life of a child, just look at the results!