CASA Class Set to Begin Jan. 25, Still Seeking Volunteers

CASA of the Hi-Line is set to begin their new training classes at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Valley County Courthouse Community Room. Executive Director of CASA of the Hi-Line Mark Douglass told the Courier that currently there are three new court-appointed special advocates who have committed to the class, with at least two others tentatively scheduled to attend. “So honestly if we could have a few more show up, we could cover all of our priority cases in Valley County,” said Douglass excitedly.

Douglass emphasized that despite no background in the program, any person can walk in to the orientation and begin the process to become a CASA. According to Douglass, the orientation will cover the general concept of being a CASA, and an introduction to the CASA FLEX course, which consists of one day a week in the classroom and an online format for convenience and ease of learning.

Douglass explained that, “CASA training used to be completely book based, but FLEX is half in the classroom and half online, so one night a week is spent learning in a class and then they can learn more data outside of the classroom.”

CASA has seen a large amount of recent interest in Valley County and last month Douglass provided an opinion column to the Courier, urging people on the fence to start the process of becoming a CASA. In the past, Douglass has emphasized that the training regiment allows future CASAs to undergo a sort of “discernment” period before committing to a case. Furthermore, a large number of cases still remain without advocates despite the growing interest of participants.

If you are interested in volunteering, you can contact Mark Douglass at 406-265-6743x1135 or [email protected]. You can also show up at the Wednesday, Jan. 25 orientation at the Valley County Courthouse Community Room, as Douglass put it, “Walk-ins are always welcome.”