(Above) CASA volunteers and team members are sworn in. (Below) CASA team (l-r) Erika Washington, Jessica Blackrick, Fairiby Frye and Tiffany Lanning. SPECIAL PHOTO There are many children in the Ware County community in dire need of help, due to issues faced in the home, whether that be substance abuse or poverty. Fortunately, that’s where organizations like Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) come in. CASA is a non-profit that focuses on pairing volunteers with children suffering from abuse, neglect, or some other situation that puts them in foster care. The volunteers regularly meet with the children, while communicating with all parties involved in the case (parents, foster parents, social workers, etc.). They then act as an advocate for the child’s best interest in court, until the child either returns home, or is placed in a permanent home. “CASA is the way our community can respond to the foster care problem,” said Waycross CASA director Jessica Blackrick. She and CASA lead advocacy coordinator Fairiby Frye went on to explain the problem with foster care in the area, specifically that there are not enough foster care homes in the area; there are currently 580 children in
