CHAVES COUNTY - CASA

Other resources for victims of abuse are:

Roswell Police Department: Dial 911 or (575) 624-6770

Counseling Associates: (575) 623-6069

Roswell Refuge for Battered Adults

To file a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) or to find out more information about domestic violence services, contact The Refuge at: (575) 627-8361

www.roswellrefuge.org

Victim Assistance may be available through VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) http://www.cvrc.state.nm.us/

A CASA is a volunteer appointed by the Children's Court of The Fifth Judicial District to ensure the needs of children who may have been neglected or abused are being met. To do this CASAs must investigate facts, recommend a course of action, facilitate the resolution of presenting problems, and monitor progress toward established goals. The goal of Chaves County CASA is to provide a powerful voice for every abused child in the court system. To this end the work of volunteers and staff is organized into a number of specific projects.

The Abuse and Neglect Project pairs volunteer advocates with children in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families as the result of physical abuse or palpable neglect.

The Domestic Violence and Custody Advocacy Project addresses the needs of kids caught in bitter custody disputes involving accusations of abuse, neglect or sexual molestation. In 1996 Chaves County judges began appointing CASAs to every case of domestic violence in which a temporary restraining order was issued and children were impacted. CASAs are now routinely called upon to make recommendations respecting custody assignment, foster care, parental visitation, and the like. The appointment of CASAs to these domestic cases represents a bold and original extension of the program’s focus to help more kids in need—the kind of innovation for which Chaves County CASA is considered a leader in the state.

Juvenile Court Advocacy is available to youth in the Juvenile Justice System who are deemed to be at risk because of abuse or neglect or who are otherwise in need of specialized interventions. Highly trained court advocates investigate a youth’s home conditions, find effective solutions, and make recommendations to the court in the youth’s best interests.

For more information call
(575) 625-0112 or e-mail casakids@dfn.com

Intensive Youth Advocacy is a yet another groundbreaking project of Chaves County CASA which seeks to thwart the generational progression of poverty and crime by providing kids in the Juvenile Justice System a range of sound and constructive solutions to the real-world problems they face. Because so many of these stem directly from traumatic physical and sexual abuse, CASA employs a number of highly trained advocates and youth mentors who join meaningful court advocacy with creative programs and alternative education support to ensure the best possible outcomes. The importance of these interventions is indicated by a recent finding that fully 85 percent of participating youth attend school, meet court obligations and remain arrest-free during enrollment.

LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
FOR BOYS

Among the programs and services under CASA’s Intensive Youth Advocacy (IYA) is the Leadership Program for Boys, a twelve week intensive training session which helps participants confront the role of violence in their lives with a view to breaking patterns of abuse. Working with community organizations like the Roswell Police Department, Juvenile Probation, Assurance Home, Wings for Life, and a number of faith communities, the Leadership Program uses on-site group mentoring to teach self-respect, leadership skills, and effective ways of dealing with anger and grief. It addresses peer pressure and gang involvement, as well as the importance of teamwork and planning for the future. Individual treatment plans and case management are provided to each boy and his family on an as-needed basis

GIRLS CIRCLE

For more Girls Circle
information go to:
http://www.girlscircle.com/

Working in a complementary way with girls is the Girls Circle, a nationally recognized program that promotes good judgment, positive self-image, and critical thinking skills among twelve to eighteen year olds. Mentors guide youth in addressing a wide variety of issues that include goal setting, coping skills and relationships with adults and peers. Group discussion focuses on such critical topics as drug use, pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, past abuse, racial and sexual stereotypes, incarcerated parents and gangs. The program aims to both prevent delinquency and intervene in the lives of girls who have been referred by the courts because of criminal involvement. During twelve week intensive sessions mentors make use of journaling, group therapy, role playing, guest speakers, and collage as well as community volunteerism and college field trips to help girls learn to make wise choices and set constructive goals for their lives.

COURT ADVOCACY

Juveniles who are thought to be at risk owing to abuse or neglect and are referred to CASA’s IYA programs by the courts are eligible for representation by highly trained court advocates. These men and women make it their aim to research each case thoroughly, furnish the courts an accurate picture of a child’s home life and make objective recommendations in her best interest.

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
PROGRAM

The IYA’s Alternative Education Program provides life skills counseling, literacy training, job skills development, art and physical education, as well as moral support and character development to middle school youth, many of whom have been expelled or suspended long-term from their schools. With its computer lab and assessment software, CASA is able to evaluate the needs of students on a case by case basis and provide them with individualized instruction from between one to three hours a day. The program was designed in collaboration with the Chaves County Courts, Juvenile Probation, Roswell Independent School District, Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, Counseling Associates, area churches and local artists to fill the need for a safe and structured environment where even the most disenfranchised youth can find educational support and encouragement.

For more information about Visitation Services call (575) 625-0112 or e-mail casakids@dfn.com

Supervised Visitation LINKS:

http://www.svnetwork.net/ http://www.cyfd.org/ http://www.nmcan.org/ http://www.afccnet.org

Another indispensable service administered through Chaves County CASA is the Supervised Access and Visitation Program which provides a safe, neutral and comfortable place for children and non-custodial parents to visit and maintain family ties, whatever else may be happening in their lives. Because children have a need to love their parents and to feel loved in return, the program is dedicated to preserving parent-child relationships, focusing primarily on resolving conflicts related to child custody and visitation. Chaves County CASA maintains strict neutrality, playing an unbiased role in the facilitation of meetings and taking no position between parents. Our Supervised Visitation Center furnishes a relaxed and home-like environment for these encounters, with the safety of clients assured by expert staff and a comprehensive security system. The program also facilitates in-home and other off-site visitations including some with incarcerated parents as provided for by the courts.

Mediation is a process used to help people reach agreements. A neutral, trained mediator helps families discuss conflicts, explore possible options for settlement, and identify solutions that best meet the needs of each person involved. Mediation is available on a sliding fee scale basis.

CASA provides experienced, bilingual life-skills counselors at no charge to local children and their families. Our short-term, solution-focused counseling empowers families by providing them with tools to face and overcome obstacles.

Power of Attorney documents are available at links on the Legal Resources and Documents page of this website along with a resource booklet for incarcerated or soon-to-be incarcerated parents which helps them plan for children while they are away. Other links provide information to children and youths living apart from their parents.

The Kinship Care Center is an all-inclusive center for grandparents, relatives and adoptive parents caring for children under the age of 18. CASA's Kinship Care Center offers an assortment of services, programs and support for people who step up to care for other's children, including: Information and resource referrals, case management services, assistance with Medicaid, guardianship & Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) paperwork, legal resource information and supervised visitation services. CASA also provides support for children whose parents are incarcerated. CASA's Caregivers Assistance Program is an outreach program designed to assure the safety and well being of these high risk children.

Highly trained staff provides crisis support, parenting classes, resource referral, supervised visitation, and transportation to program participants. CASA assists incarcerated parents by helping them find competent caregivers for whom the safety and well-being of children is paramount. CASA provides resources to approved caregivers that ensure a child’s physical, educational, emotional, and medical needs are being met. These services are free, regardless of income, to all families in Chaves County who have adopted, have guardianship, or are relatives raising a relative’s children.

For more information about Transitions call Maryann Saenz, Transitions Facilitator, at (575) 625-0112 ext. 317 or
e-mail maryann@yahoo.com

Transitions was created and founded by Kellie Jurado through funding from the nationwide American Eagle Live Your Life Contest. A Goddard High School Student at the time, Kellie won this contest for designing Transitions, a program that provides Life Books and support for children who are transitioning from foster care into permanent homes. Life Books are scrapbooks that chronicle the life of the child from birth through foster care and into adoptive or permanent homes. Life Books help to raise self-esteem, provide continuity and lessen trauma for abused children by helping them to feel connections with all stages of their lives.

Children are often removed from abusive homes with little more than the clothes on their backs. To meet the emergency needs of these kids Chaves County CASA accepts donations of new and unused clothes, toiletries, towels, bedding, baby products and toys. Once a year CASA opens the doors of its Christmas Store where foster parents and our neediest families can shop for free from hundreds of gifts provided by supporters in the local community.

Chaves County CASA believes that youth are most effectively reached using a holistic approach that integrates mind, body, spirit and family. We insist that all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent home. Our ultimate goal is to help the kids we serve break the cycles of abuse in their lives so that they may one day provide stable and loving homes for their own children. We know the past need not simply repeat itself when people care enough to stand up for the most defenseless among us who as children remain the promise of our future.