Voices for Children (VFC).
Children in foster care astonish us every day. Despite the challenges they face or the abuse they have endured, these boys and girls inspire us with their resilience. But no matter how resilient they may be, children need the consistency of a caring adult in their lives. Someone to tell them they are smart, they are capable, they are worthy of their time: someone to help them see a future full of hope and possibility. For a child in foster care, that person is their CASA – their Court Appointed Special Advocate.
Voices for Children (VFC) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to transform the lives of foster children by providing them with CASA volunteers. With the support and training of the team at VFC, CASAs are paired with a child or sibling group. They get to know the child, work with the professionals on the case, and advocate to make sure the child’s needs are being met.
Last year, Voices for Children staff and 1,400 CASAs together served more than 3,200 children in San Diego County. Every year, approximately 4,700 children spend time in foster care in San Diego County, and VFC has a vision to provide a CASA to every child who needs one, but they need your help, especially with a key area of need: Spanish-speaking volunteers.
In San Diego County, many foster children, parents and even foster parents speak Spanish as their first language, but the professionals working on the case are not always fluent. While parents and children may know some English, the ability to converse in their native language is invaluable for building trust and, ultimately, helping children find their forever homes. Voices for Children currently has more than 130 CASAs who speak Spanish, but they need more! If you speak Spanish and want to advocate for local foster youth, sign up for an Information Session at www.speakupnow.org.
