Indiana Child Advocates Network

Indiana’s Leslie Dunn Appointed to New State Steering Committee

One vital element of National CASA’s new strategic framework is the development of a State Steering Committee. The purpose of the Committee is to advise and join with National CASA on issues impacting state organizations, local programs, and the future development and growth of the network. William Collins, President, National CASA Board of Trustees, has named the following individuals to the State Steering Committee:

Cindy Bizzell, NC
Beth Dessem, MO
Leslie Rogers-Dunn, IN
Joyce Funda, MT
Blondean Funderburk, SC
Rita Gulden, NJ
Duaine Hathaway, GA
Sheryl Marseilles, OK
Melissa O’Neill, VA
Cory Pohley, CA
Marcia Sink, NH
Sonia Valladares, FL

The members of the Committee represent state directors and representatives of varying tenure, experience, and skills and from a variety of state or-ganizational structures, sizes and models.
The State Steering Committee will begin their work in December. We will keep you apprised of activities and progress going forward.

Congratulations, Leslie!

Meet Mary Kay Emmrich … 2014 Indiana CASA Volunteer of the Year from Crossroads CASA (Benton, Jasper, and Newton Counties)

“Any volunteer work has a degree of value to it, and Mary Kay Emmrich’s volunteer work certainly has value to our community. However, when someone’s actions inspire others to join the volunteer effort as well, that value grows exponentially. Mary Kay approaches her volunteer work not as if it were a burden, but rather as if she has been provided a privileged opportunity to use her talents to assist those in need. Mary Kay is a superhero to those children for whom she has advocated.” ~Judge Jeryl Leach

Ms. Emmrich volunteers for Crossroads CASA, a multi-county program serving Benton, Jasper, and Newton Counties. She has dedicated more than 200 hours this year handling difficult cases. In one instance, she worked with a teen whose mother died. Emmrich helped organize a service and arrange for the teen to wear a dress in honor of her mother’s last request. She was nominated by her program, a fellow volunteer and two Newton County Department of Child Services case managers. Her nomination was supported by Newton Circuit Court Judge Jeryl F. Leach.

2014 Director of the Year - Leslie Hendricks took over the Grant County CASA program five years ago and has since increased the number of volunteers and children served. She also partnered with the community to start an annual sand sculpture building fundraiser that has become a community event recognized for its creativity. Hendricks was nominated by several of her board members and by Grant County Juvenile Judge Dana Kenworthy.

THANKS TO EVERYONE ... who attended the 18th Annual GAL/CASA Conference this past weekend. Participants will be receiving a survey form via email to help us plan next years' conference. Handouts from the sessions are available in download format on www.childadvocatesnetwork.org in the News and Events section.

Child Advocates Network Every day, there are hundreds of abused and neglected Hoosier children who go to court alone or who have no one to speak up for them and to tell the court what they need while they are in foster care.

ADVOCATES FOR ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN GATHER AND HONOR VOLUNTEERS AND FOSTER YOUTH

The 18th annual Indiana Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) conference will celebrate “Hometown Heroes” on October 11. The conference is an opportunity for volunteers to receive training on how to better advocate for abused and neglected children. As a part of the program, the Supreme Court will recognize Mary Kay Emmrich (Newton County) as volunteer of the year and Leslie Hendricks (Grant County) as CASA program director of the year.

Ms. Emmrich volunteers for Crossroads CASA, a multi-county program serving Benton, Jasper, and Newton Counties. She has dedicated more than 200 hours this year handling difficult cases. In one instance, she worked with a teen whose mother died. Emmrich helped organize a service and arrange for the teen to wear a dress in honor of her mother’s last request. She was nominated by her program, a fellow volunteer and two Newton County Department of Child Services case managers. Her nomination was supported by Newton Circuit Court Judge Jeryl F. Leach.

Leslie Hendricks took over the Grant County CASA program five years ago and has since increased the number of volunteers and children served. She also partnered with the community to start an annual sand sculpture building fundraiser that has become a community event recognized for its creativity. Hendricks was nominated by several of her board members and by Grant County Juvenile Judge Dana Kenworthy.

Emmrich and Hendricks will be recognized at the conference on Saturday, October 11 at the Wyndham Indianapolis West, in the Hall of Champions, 2544 Executive Drive, Indianapolis at the awards luncheon at noon. During the luncheon, a former foster youth will share his experiences. Winners of the foster youth poetry contest will also receive awards and will read their poems. Nearly 600 volunteers and staff are registered to attend. The keynote will be presented at 9:30 by Noah BenShea, who is a best-selling author, poet-philosopher whose mission is “to be a source of strength to others”.

The Indiana Supreme Court’s Division of State Court Administration oversees the state CASA program and is hosting the conference. Seventy-seven of Indiana’s 92 counties have CASA programs. In 2013, more than 3,400 volunteers advocated for 18,000 abused and neglected children in state care. Still, more than 2,000 children need volunteer advocates.

The Indiana State Office of GAL/CASA is pleased to announce that the keynote speaker at this year's conference will be one of North America's most respected and popular poet-philosophers, Mr. Noah benShea! He is also a scholar, theologian, long range thinker, executive advisor, speaker, and International best-selling author. By the age of 23, he was an Assistant Dean of Students at UCLA, and by age 30, a consulting fellow to a number of esteemed think tanks including The Center for the Humanities at USC and The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara. Noah is the International Best-Selling author of 23 books, which have been translated into a eighteen languages. Sometimes referred to as the “Guru’s Guru” and a “Zen Mark Twain,” “An Evening With Noah benShea” was broadcast over national PBS in 150 cities, and Noah has been widely interviewed on radio, television, and in print across North America. He has also had a daily “thought” featured on a regional ABC affiliate and a weekly radio talk show. Noah has a heart and passion for the work of CASA volunteers and for foster children as well. As Executive Director of The Justice Project, he has initiated a project called, "A Book of My Own" which is placing books in the hands of foster children across the country.

In the most recent “A Book of My Own” event in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 300 books were donated by The Justice Project and distributed to children through the local CASA program, Allen County CASA. Local foster children attended and were given the opportunity to pick out age appropriate books. The event was well-attended by the community and resulted in several great news stories that included positive press for CASA programs.

Indiana Forms Win-Win Partnerships to Promote CASA Programs and Help Kids

At the State Office in Indiana, we have formed several partnerships that have proved invaluable to both local programs and abused and neglected children. Most recently, the Indiana CASA office is partnering with The Justice Project, a non-profit whose mission is to be a pro-active platform for just causes. One of the programs of The Justice Project, called “A Book of My Own,” donates new books with nameplates in them to CASA children, to encourage a love of reading. The Justice Project and the Indiana State CASA Office partnered to distribute books to abused and neglected children through CASA programs.
In the most recent “A Book of My Own” event in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 300 books were donated by The Justice Project and distributed to children through the local CASA program, Allen County CASA. The event was held in the Courthouse Atrium and local judges, as well as the Mayor, county commissioners, the State CASA Directors, the State Superintendent of Schools, and the Executive Director of The Justice Project, Noah benShea, attended and spoke to the crowd.
Local foster children attended and were given the opportunity to pick out age appropriate books. The event was well-attended by the community and resulted in several great news stories that included positive press for CASA programs.
A similar event was held in Indianapolis several months earlier, in which the books were presented to the juvenile judge in the courtroom, also resulting in good news coverage for the CASA program. The Indiana State CASA Office has also arranged for The Justice Project’s Executive Director Noah benShea to be the keynote speaker at the Indiana CASA Conference. The speaker fee will be donated to The Justice Project and will be used to provide more books to more Indiana children through additional “A Book of My Own” events with local CASA programs.
I believe that forming mutually beneficial partnerships with key partners is extremely beneficial for local CASA programs and the children they serve. The Indiana State Office has a history of developing unique partnerships that assist both the State Office and local programs with raising public awareness of our mission, recruiting and training volunteers and fundraising.
We have partnered with the Indiana Retired Teachers Association to recruit more retired teachers to be CASA volunteers, a relationship that has resulted in an addition of over 200 retired teacher volunteers over the last several years.
The State Office has also partnered with the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, which chose CASA as their philanthropy project for the year and raised over $85,000 for the CASA network in Indiana. Finally, we also partnered with the Department of Education, Youth Law TEAM of Indiana and the CIP project to develop an educational advocacy manual and to provide training to CASA volunteers, foster parents and child welfare professionals across the state.

For more information about any of these projects, please contact me at [email protected].

18th Annual Indiana GAL/CASA Conference
"HOMETOWN HEROES"
It is time to register for the 18th Annual Indiana GAL/CASA State Conference being held at the Indianapolis Wyndham West on Saturday, October 11, 2014! The Indiana Supreme Court's State Office of GAL/CASA is excited to present a full day of sessions to help you learn and advance in your current role as an advocate for abused and neglected children. For more details please visit http://www.cvent.com/d/x4qrcn

Registration
All conference registration will be done online again this year. All conference related fees must be paid by credit card through the online system. Directors will have the ability to register all of their volunteers and pay for their participation in one transaction, if desired. To be able to register for the conference, everyone must have an email address. Email addresses will be used only for conference related purposes as well as serve as the log in ID for each attendee.

Registrant Type Fee
CASA Staff $50.00
CASA Volunteer $50.00
GAL Attorney $75.00
2014 Conference Keynote
The Indiana State Office of GAL/CASA is pleased to announce that the keynote speaker at this year's conference will be one of North America's most respected and popular poet-philosophers, Mr. Noah benShea! He is also a scholar, theologian, long range thinker, executive advisor, speaker, and International best-selling author. By the age of 23, he was an Assistant Dean of Students at UCLA, and by age 30, a consulting fellow to a number of esteemed think tanks including The Center for the Humanities at USC and The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara. Noah is the International Best-Selling author of 23 books, which have been translated into a eighteen languages. Sometimes referred to as the “Guru’s Guru” and a “Zen Mark Twain,” “An Evening With Noah benShea” was broadcast over national PBS in 150 cities, and Noah has been widely interviewed on radio, television, and in print across North America. He has also had a daily “thought” featured on a regional ABC affiliate and a weekly radio talk show. Noah has a heart and passion for the work of CASA volunteers and for foster children as well. He has initiated a project called, "A Book of My Own" which is placing books in the hands of foster children across the country.

Conference Hotel
The 18th Annual Conference will again be held at the Indianapolis Wyndham West. A room rate of $91 has been set up for the group. You will have the ability to reserve your room online when registration opens. The Wyndham offers complimentary parking and complimentary internet in guest rooms. Check-in time is 4:00 pm and check-out time is noon.

Friday Evening Social
Please plan to join us for the Friday Evening Social this year! This is an opportunity for you to come reunite with old GAL/CASA friends and make new acquaintances! There will be a $25 fee for attendance at this event, and we will provide light appetizers and entertainment. There will be a cash bar available.

Tentative Saturday Conference Schedule

Function Start Time End Time
Registration 7:45 AM 3:00 PM
Continental Breakfast 7:45 AM 9:00 AM
Opening Plenary and Keynote Speaker 9:00 AM 10:15 AM
Exhibits and Networking 10:15 AM 10:45 AM
Breakout Session #1 10:45 AM 12:00 PM
Awards Luncheon 12:00 PM 1:30 PM
Breakout Session #2 1:45 PM 3:00 PM
Breakout Session #3 3:15 PM 4:30 PM


Register for the 18th Annual Indiana GAL/CASA Conference at http://www.cvent.com/d/x4qrcn

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Grant County has been operating out of a new location for about a month.

The organization moved into 303 S. Norton Ave., next to Cancer Services of Grant County, on May 22 and officially opened the new place May 27, CASA Executive Director Leslie Hendricks said. CASA had a ribbon cutting and open house on June 24.

The move wasn’t exactly planned, but it has turned into a “blessing in disguise,” Hendricks said. The former location at 904 W. Third St. was about 1,300 square feet, and the new structure is 2,700 square feet, allowing the organization room to grow if needed.

“We really have been seeing a lot more families and children, and it’s getting to the point where we’re seeing enough of them that at times they overlap,” she said. “So, for confidentiality and privacy, what we have done is we’ve moved our office part to the front where CASA was.”

After looking at multiple vacant properties, she and a special committee comprised of board members agreed to purchase the former Gary Oradat property.

“It was the first property that we took a look at,” Hendricks said. “When we walked into it, it really was already configured in a manner that would fit our needs perfectly. Very little construction was needed. It was a quick turnaround.”

Superior Court 2 Judge Dana Kenworthy attended the open house and said she was impressed with the building renovations.
Other amenities the property offers include accessible parking, Hendricks said. It’s also one-level, is halfway between the Department of Child Services and the Grant County Courthouse, where the volunteers go, and has extra office space.

“We’re so blessed,” she said. “I’ve been here for five years, and when I started we were in a single room. It kind of brings tears to my eyes because it’s a testimony to how the community has stepped up and realized what we do is valuable and that what we do affects the lives of children.”

State CASA Director Leslie Dunn, who stopped by the open house, said she was pleased with the work the Grant County organization is doing.

She said the inside of the new office is beautiful, and she especially liked how welcoming she felt by the plants, paint color, quotations and pictures on the walls. She described the atmosphere as “comforting and safe.”

Dunn said she was even more impressed, however, with the community support she saw in Grant County. Board members, volunteers, judges and law enforcement were all represented at the open house — not something she sees in other communities.

“People came together to accomplish a goal,” she said. “It shows what a quality program it is. (Grant County) has one of the best directors, and I don’t see that everywhere I go.”

Dunn said she hopes the new building allows CASA to attract more volunteers and eliminate the waiting list the county has. More than 3,000 kids in the state are waiting on a CASA.

[Original Article By Mishele Wright [email protected]]

26 June 2014 -- Leslie Hendricks, CASA of Grant County executive director, gets a hug from CASA board member Nedra Sutter, at left, during an after hours open house Thursday in CASA's new location at 303 S. Norton Ave.. Photo/Jeff Morehead/Chronicle-Tribune.

26 June 2014 -- A quotation by Minor Myers Jr., late president of Illinois Wesleyan University, adorns the office door of Leslie Hendricks, CASA of Grant County executive director, as visitors get refreshments during an after hours open house Thursday in CASA's new location at 303 S. Norton Ave.. Photo/Jeff Morehead/Chronicle-Tribune.