NRV Cares

Casa (court appointed special advocates) of the New River Valley recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers who advocate for safe, permanent placements of children involved in Child abuse/neglect court cases. Assigned by the presiding judge, casa volunteers report the Child's health and well-being to the courts along with information on placement options to change the Child's story. 52 abused/neglected children received 2,070 hours of Advocacy per Virginia code section 9.1-153. 98% of children served by casa were working towards permanency per the adoption and safe families act guidelines.

Parent Education offers four programs to the community: parenting young children, circle of parents, parenting through separation and divorce, and parenting workshops. Parenting young children provided eight-week courses to 70 parents/caregivers of children under the age of six, using the step curriculum. Circle of parents offered weekly support groups to 26 parents/caregivers of children of any age. Parenting through separation/divorce provided co-parenting seminars to 126 individuals caring for children in shared custody. Parenting workshops providing parenting ideas to 290 individuals. Overall, 88% of participants reported an increase in knowledge of parenting strategies and Child development/behavior.

Community Education programs target all ages to protect children and strengthen families: community outreach and stewards of children. Community outreach promotes NRV Cares programs and serves the greater community through participation in collaborative efforts to improve Services provided to families and children. Community outreach includes the New River Valley resiliency network promoting trauma informed care and resiliency. Stewards of children focuses on preventing and stopping the serious issue of Child sexual abuse. 3,281 individuals were served. Each program achieved target levels of outcomes.