Summer 2012 Newsletter

The Advocate’s Voice
summer 2012
CASA Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary!
Inside this issue:
CASA Casino
Night
1
Volunteer
Spotlights
1
A Child is
Waiting
1
Volunteer
Anniversary
Celebrations
2
Pre-Service
Training Class
Graduates
2
Volunteer
Spotlights
(continued)
2
Donors Making
A Difference
3
In celebration of CASA’s 25th anniversary,
CASA of Montgomery County hosted a Casino
Night and Silent Auction on Saturday, April
28, 2012, at the Universities at Shady Grove.
Over 200 guests enjoyed casino games including blackjack, craps, poker and roulette with a
Texas Hold ‘em game highlighting the
evening’s gaming. Among the guests was
NBC4’s Barbara Harrison who received the
first Barbara Harrison Child Advocacy Award.
This award was established to recognize individuals who, like our CASA volunteers, make a
difference in the lives of children in need. A
big attraction during the evening was a silent
auction with more than 100 donated items including jewelry, autographed sports equipment, gourmet food baskets, and gift certificates for a variety of events, restaurants, local attractions, and personal, home improvement and educational services. Event co-chairs Elysa Fisher and Joyce Schneider did an outstanding job organizing the event which raised over $50,000 for CASA of Montgomery
County. Funds will be used to recruit, train and provide on-going support and supervision to volunteers to advocate on behalf of foster children in the County. Thank you to the Board, Corporate
Sponsors, staff, volunteers and guests who helped make CASA’s Casino Night and Silent Auction
2012 a huge success!
Volunteer Spotlights
Liz Stefanowicz has been the CASA for five-year-old Mary * since June, 2010. Mary and her seven
siblings first came to the attention of Child Welfare Services (CWS) in 2008, when they were placed
in foster care by their mother who was struggling to care for eight children. Throughout the case,
Liz advocated for reunification services for Mary and her mother. However, when it became
apparent that reunification was not in Mary’s best interest, Liz successfully advocated for a change
in Mary’s permanency plan to adoption. Mary’s permanency plan was changed to adoption in May,
2011. In July, 2011, the Department filed a petition to terminate the parent’s parental rights, and
Mary’s adoption was finalized in April, 2012.
Karen Martinson has been the CASA volunteer assigned to seventeen-year-old Alex since August
of 2009. Alex suffers from cognitive limitations. He is currently placed in a therapeutic foster home
with a permanency plan of reunification. Alex’s current foster home is not committed to being a
long-term, permanent resource for Alex. Alex’s mother and grandmother have remained consistently
involved and were visiting Alex regularly at the Visitation House. Karen felt strongly that Alex’s
family will ultimately provide Alex with a long-term, positive connection, and will remain a source of
support throughout his life regardless of where he is placed. Through Karen’s advocacy, Alex is now
able to visit his family at their home in Washington D.C. Visits at his family home can now provide
a sense of normalcy for Alex which will allow him to more easily transition into this pattern once he
ages out of foster care.
More Spotlights on Page 2
Seal of
Excellence
4
Upcoming
Training
Schedule
4
A Child is Waiting
Ryan * is a 12-year-old boy who came to the attention of Child Welfare Services after a report was
made alleging neglect. It was reported that Ryan and his two siblings were left home alone without
supervision. The subsequent investigation found that the family's housing was unstable and Ryan
and his brother were displaying behavior that their mother could not manage. A second report was
made indicating that Ryan had been physically abused by his mother. Ryan was placed in a foster
home briefly, before being placed with his grandmother. He was later removed from his
grandmother and placed in a new foster home, where he currently resides. Ryan could benefit from
having a CASA in his life who could help advocate for stability and services until he can be reunited
with his biological family.
* names have been changed
Page 2
The Advocate’s Voice
CASA Board of
Directors
Congratulations To Our
Pre-Service Training Grads
Barbara Faigen
President
Debbie Redman
Vice President
John E. DeVan, III
Treasurer
Keerthi Swamy
Secretary
CASA Volunteer Anniversary* Celebrations
Board Members
Scott G. Fass
Omari Faulkner
Sharon Kneiss
David Lease
Brauna Martin
Ellen Martz
Lesley Moore Vossen
Joan Schaffer
Linda Stewart
Program Staff
Francha Davis
Executive Director
Jennifer Carson
Director of Children’s
Services
*from date first assigned to a child
Nine Years
Michelle Hsu
Seven Years
Kim Showman
Five Years
Ellen Cohen
April Gilbert
Rosalind Smith
Lauren Supplee
Four Years
Sheila Berman
Denise Brown
Gail Macleod-Ball
Clem Rastatter
Three Years
Sheryl Donaldson
Arriell Garner
Elina Garrido Ekwurzel
Aliya Khan
Eileen Murnane
Kathy Ravenscroft
Alissa Sagri
Two Years
Teresa Bailey
Jill Brigati
JoAnn Goedert
Tracy Greaney
Sarah Hall
Stephen Kamas
Katherine O’Neill
Nita Patel
George Portes
Margo Smith
Elizabeth Stefanowicz
One Year
Gaby Aranda
Sandra-Lynn Berson
Myrna Justus
Meredith Levert
Hiromi Maruyama
Karen Anderson
Melissa Apel
Suzanne Blonder
Stephen Boliek
Sonia Burguillo
Lou Cabral
Jennifer Cardin
Lisa Chen
Nancy Cohen
Carmen Collette
Helen Dimsdale
Ann Fedeli
Michelle George
Jessica Hampton
Kanchana Iyer
Stella Johnson
Lauren Lehman
Ethel Levine
Ellin O'Hare
Maria Ortiz-Malte
Michael Reed
Kimberly Sadelson
Erin Shine
Leslie Speisman
Liat Suvorov
Dan Wolski
Sharron Yankah
Jennifer Antolick
Sr. Case Supervisor
A Special Thanks
Jaime Dohn
Case Supervisor
CASA would like to thank the following CASA volunteers for their help in screening references for our
Spring 2012 pre-service training class:
Shayla Poole-Diarra
Case Supervisor
Maria Rivera
Case Supervisor
Angie von Stein
Case Supervisor
Danielle Verbiest
Development &
Operations Manager
Shukrat Abbas, Marla Bonner, Sandy Boots, Tiffany Ford, and Amanda Krape.
Volunteer Spotlights (continued)
Tina Shaffer has been assigned to a family of three children since February 2012. During one of her
initial visits to the family home, she encountered resistance from the children’s biological mother.
However, she worked through the resistance by inviting the mother out to lunch. The mother began to
talk with Tina and to open up to Tina about what was going on with the family. Tina and the mother
have been able to establish a good working relationship, and the mother is currently engaging with
other parties on the case. She is making progress working towards reunification with her children.
* name has been changed
Page 3
summer 2012
Donors Making A Difference
Jonathan Agre
Andra Allison
Roy & Gail Antolick
The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz
Foundation
Community Foundation for
Montgomery County
Phillip Dupre
Scott & Patricia Fass
John & Mary Gilbert
Mary Lambert
Woei-min & Nae-ning Lin
Stefan Lobuglio
Chris McAndrews & Tamara Horne
National Council of Jewish Women
~ Montgomery County Chapter
Verena Rose
Robert & Kathryn Rushing
Luda Shields
Daniel & Patricia Solomon
Nancy Stockbridge
Women of St. Francis Episcopal
Church
Gerson & Shirley Yalowitz
In Honor of Francha Davis
Alec & Lisa Stone
In Memory of Barbara Desser’s
Father
David & Carolyn Hockstein
In Honor of Ethel Levine
Amy Federman
In Memory of Kimberly Herman
Myrna Justus
In Memory of Sunny
Susan O’Neill
In Memory of Shannon Elizabeth
Tobin
Thomas & Maureen Buneo
In Memory of Tillie Unger
Jane Unger
In Honor of Jay DeVan
Howard & Cindy Menditch
In Honor of Barbara Faigen
Anonymous
Doug & Marilyn Butters
Michael & Trudy Fleisher
Michael & Ellen Gold
Renee Loeb
Stewart & Amy Manela
Nancy Poole
Caryn & Ellen Rich
Scott & Evelyn Screiber
Andrea Shandell & Russell Fox
David Wittenstein
In Honor of Barbara Faigen &
Debbie Redman
Arthur & Lynn Dubin
In Honor of Barbara Harrison
Jackie Bradford (NBC4)
In Honor of Brauna Martin
Eve Schiff
CASA Casino Night
Arent Fox LLP
Beltsville Industries Group, Inc.
Sheryl Bensimon
Matt & Allyson Bergman
BPB Solutions
Gaetan & Carol Brunetto
Lois Clark
Clark Construction Group, LLC
Convergent Wealth Advisors
Criswell Chevrolet
DeVan & Lowery, P.A.
Smith, Lease & Goldstein, LLC is proud to
support CASA of Montgomery County
Smith, Lease & Goldstein, LLC, is a full
service litigation law firm located adjacent to
the Montgomery County Courthouses. The
firm represents individuals and businesses in
the state and federal courts throughout
Maryland, Virginia and The District of
Columbia.
(301) 838-8950
Dickstein Shapiro LLP
Gary & Barbara Faigen
Gerber Tours
Robert Fleshner & Phyllis
Aaronson
Henry & Laurie Friedman
Anthony Guiliani
Barry & Shari Golob
Harvey Goodman
Sophia Harrison
Healthcare Resource Network LLC
Heymann, Suissa & Stone, P.C. CPA
David & Carolyn Hockstein
Hughes Network Systems
Robin Kaplan & Abram Kronsberg
Joe Kull
David & Mindy Landau
Alan & Agner Leshner
John & Jane Lewis
Mitra Mamdouhi
Thomas & Susan Matlick
Robert McNamara, Jr.
Sloane Menkes
William & Sue Murray
Donal O’Connell
Amy Sachs Kershner
Paragon Title and Escrow
Reznick Group
Ronald & Isabelle Schoenfeld
Jon & Karen Simon
Smith, Lease & Goldstein, LLC
Sprowls, Dicken & Key Wealth
Management Group
Joseph Steinbock
Marcia Sundeen
Richard & Monica Sussman
Jim & Carol Trawick Foundation
Thelma Wacks
Davis Weiss
Eric & Laurie Wenger
Hon. Joanne Wills
Nanci Wohl
Zalco Property Management
Make a difference
in a child’s life
with your donation.
DONATE ONLINE
Visit our website at
casamontgomery.org
Click “Donate”
Speak Up
For A Child
Become A CASA
Volunteer Today.
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Court Appointed Special
Advocate (CASA) Program of
Montgomery County
SUBURBAN, MD
PERMIT NO. 5067
1010 Grandin Avenue
Room B-3
Rockville, MD 20851
Phone: 301-340-7458
Fax: 240-319-7210
Email: [email protected]
www.casamontgomery.org
Make A Difference
In A Child’s Life
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), Montgomery County, MD, Inc. is a private, 501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation and receives partial funding from the Montgomery County Dept. of Health and
Human Services, the State of Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Governor’s Office
of Crime Control and Prevention.
Upcoming Pre-Service Training: Fall 2012
CASA Awarded ICA’s Seal of Excellence
Saturday, Sept 15
Tuesday, Sept 18
Thursday, Sept 20
Monday, Sept 24
Thursday, Sept 27
Friday, Sept 28
Monday, October 1
CASA is proud to announce that it was awarded the
Independent Charities of America’s Seal of Excellence.
The Independent Charities Seal of Excellence is
awarded to the members of Independent Charities of
America and Local Independent Charities of America
that have, upon rigorous independent review, been able
to certify, document, and demonstrate on an annual
basis that they meet the highest standards of public
accountability, program effectiveness, and cost
effectiveness. These standards include those required
by the US Government for inclusion in the Combined
Federal Campaign, probably the most exclusive fund drive in the world. Of
the 1,000,000 charities operating in the United States today, it is estimated
that fewer than 50,000, or 5 percent, meet or exceed these standards,
and, of those, fewer than 2,000 have been awarded this Seal.
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
6:00 pm to 9:30 pm
6:00 pm to 9:30 pm
6:00 am to 9:30 pm
6:00 pm to 9:30 pm
8:15 pm to 4:30 pm
6:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Pre-service training dates are tentative and subject to
change. Contact the CASA office for more information
at 301-340-7458 or visit us on the web at
www.casamontgomery.org