East Texas Child Advocates

East Texas casa recruits, trains, & supports volunteers to advocate for children in gregg, rusk, & upshur counties that have been removed from their homes & placed into the foster care system due to abuse and neglect. Our volunteers provide a voice in the court system for the children they serve & ensure that every Child's educational, medical, psychological, physical, & social needs are being met during their time in foster care. East Texas casa's mission is to provide an advocate for every Child removed from their home & placed into care. As we strive to attain this outcome, we are also focusing on the need for highly effective advocacy by empowering our volunteers with continuing education resources, speakers, & training programs so that they are equipped every time they walk into a courtroom or into a Child's placement. Casa is working to foster collaborative family engagement in our area that puts a round table approach to family sessions and encourages families to think outside the box for placement options & to reach a Child's permanency. East Texas casa served 350 children in fy23.

Getting together safely ("gts") provides a safe, neutral, and friendly environment that encourages interaction between non-custodial parents and their children. This program allows a parent the ability to interact with their Child when they may not otherwise be allowed to based on court ordered restrictions. This program utilizes trained volunteers to observe the visits & record the interactions of the parents & children for court records if needed at later hearings. Gts fosters those vital connections with the hope that down the road the parents will manage these visits on their own. We provide a safety net at an insecure time. The gts program served 42 children in fy23.