HR0642 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0642 LRB103 39781 LAW 70332 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) on providing best interest advocacy for youth in care for the past 31 years; and

WHEREAS, Founded in 1993, Illinois CASA is the organizing body for 31 local CASA programs in 55 of the 102 counties in Illinois that recruit, train, and manage more than 3,400 volunteer advocates who advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect and are now involved in the child welfare system; and

WHEREAS, Illinois CASA provides statewide advocacy, technical assistance, quality assurance, training, and resources for the network of local CASA programs, builds capacity and plans for the growth of the CASA network, and advocates for reform and improvement in the child welfare sector in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Illinois CASA's volunteer advocates are trained and supervised by their local agencies and sworn to confidentiality by the Juvenile Judge of the Circuit Court; they gather objective information that is used for the best interest advocacy for each child and report to the court regularly on the status of each child, providing valuable recommendations that have a lasting impact on permanency; they are each assigned to one case at a time, usually concerning one or two children, and serve on that case until it closes while working as a team member with the caseworker assigned by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) Attorney assigned to the child; overall, they have contributed more than 275,000 hours of collective time; and

WHEREAS, Illinois CASA has developed the Illinois Equity Task Force to ensure that an environment of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) remains a focal point in providing equitable services and resources for all children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect; since the adoption of its DEI statement, the organization's board and the task force have coordinated an ongoing review of its mission statement, policies, and alignment to newly developed DEI principles; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of its 31-year history, Illinois CASA has collaborated meaningfully with partners to deliver training and technical assistance focused on meeting the needs of children, advocated for policies that more broadly addressed the needs of all involved in the child welfare system, and supported its staff and volunteers with programs that focus on vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout so they can provide trauma-informed support to children; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) on providing best interest advocacy for youth in care for the past 31 years, and we recognize the organization for its continued service and dedication to the children of Illinois and the State; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Illinois CASA as an expression of our esteem and respect.