On Wednesday, June 29, four volunteers will be sworn in by a Juvenile Court Judge for the Macon Judicial Circuit to help children in our community who are in the foster system. The swearing in will take place at the Thomas Jackson Juvenile Justice Center(560 Oglethorpe Street) inside of courtroom 2 at 9:00 a.m. Media must arrive by 8:45 a.m. to get screened and in place by 9:00 a.m.

The volunteers trained with Central Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) to get ready to work with DFCS, the court system, and other agencies to support children in foster care. They will be the advocates for the children in the system to make sure they are getting the support and services they need. All volunteers go through a five-session training and ten hours of observation at Juvenile Court.

“Our volunteers really get a chance to know these children, providing a real value to our entire system,” says CASA Executive Director Susanna Patterson, pointing out they are the advocates for the children in court decisions, bringing information directly to the judges. “Our judges love them and the information and perspective they bring.”

It was announced on Tuesday, June 14 that Central Georgia CASA was one of 25 recipients of the first round of Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) grants. It will be getting $25,000 to recruit, train, and support more volunteers for children 12 years of age and older.

“If we’re going to prevent future crime, we need to start earlier and earlier…making sure our children are supported, are loved, and are the center of our worlds,” says Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller. “With Central Georgia CASA, we can connect the most loving people in our community with the children who need them the most.”