Court appointed advocates assist 52 Towns County children in past year

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Della Lago, the executive director of Enota CASA, informed the community Tuesday evening of the positive impact the “Court Appointed Special Advocates” are making in the lives of local children. Enota CASA serves Lumpkin, Towns, Union, and White counties. A total of 52 children in Towns County benefited from the non-profit organization in the past year, with over a thousand hours served by 15 volunteer advocates.

Lago presented data on a projection screen of CASA’s beneficial work in the area. Two adoptions will take place in Towns County in the next 60 days, with 11 percent of children in the circuit entering adoption upon leaving foster care. A total of 66 percent of children are ultimately reunited with their families.

Enota CASA sponsors fundraisers to support its mission, including the Northside Pickleball Tourament scheduled for next week, and the bi-annual Dancing with the North Georgia Stars competition approaching in October. December luminaries on public squares, lit to represent the children served, and blue pinwheels placed on courthouse grounds each year, raise awareness of the worthy program.

“This is just an overall glimpse of what is happening in the entire circuit, and as you can see, we have saved the counties and taxpayers over $430,000,” Lago explained. “That money does not come out of the taxpayer’s pocket or come out of your county budget. But let’s focus in on Towns County. Fifty two children were served, removed from care and served, in Towns County alone….They had to leave their pets, their blankets, their toys, their family, probably their school, their friends. But the good news is when we have a CASA assigned to that child, they are more likely to do better at school, they receive all the healthcare and medical services that they need, and they achieve permanancy in a safe, loving home a lot faster. So that’s why that CASA volunteer is so important. For this county alone, because of your support of CASA, we were able to fulfill our mission, but what that does is it impacts all of you. $57,000 did not come out of the county budget to pay for services of guardian ad litem fees, the legal fees, and other things like that. That is signifigant. That is huge. That tells me this community cares. This community doesn’t want a child to go without a voice, or without a home, or without the services they need.”

Parental drug and alcohol abuse accounts for the majority of children placed in foster care, followed by incarceration.

“The reasons for removal, your probably not shocked by this, about 67 percent across our circuit – and regardless of the county, it’s pretty much the same statistic for every county as it is for our entire circuit – are removed for drug and alcohol abuse. So it’s an epidemic nationwide not only mationwide, but here in our county,” Lago said. In the past five years, Towns County has seen a 44 percent increase in children entering the CASA program. “We need more of you to get involved. These children need someone to advocate for them.”

Training for Enota CASA volunteers begins Aug. 26. Additional information can be found at EnotaCASA.org