Points to share in your Emails to Senate & congress

1. I support Oregon CASA Network’s (OCN) FY 2025 Congressionally Directed Spending / Community Project Funding request of $1.7 million. This direct federal funding is critical to CASA’s (“Court Appointed Special Advocates”) ability to continue to provide essential, state mandated court appointed advocacy for children in foster care.

2. CASAs advocate for the best interest of children before the court because of abuse or neglect. SAY WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU!

3. OCN has relied on federal VOCA funding since 2017. Unfortunately, to maintain solvency of the fund, Congress has placed increasingly tighter annual caps on VOCA funds available for distribution. When VOCA funding to Oregon was reduced, the state announced it was eliminating all competitive VOCA grants. As a result, CASA programs in Oregon will no longer be able to access funding from VOCA.

4. Losing VOCA means the elimination of CASA staff positions statewide, limiting the ability to recruit, train, and supervise nearly 600 volunteers and denying thousands of children who have suffered abuse or neglect access to a CASA advocate.

5. Evidence-based studies show children with a CASA access more trauma-informed services like mental health counseling, are less likely to be expelled, have significantly fewer foster placements, and are half as likely to re-enter the child welfare system than children without a CASA.

6. We request $1.7 million to allow uninterrupted advocacy for some of our most vulnerable Oregonians.