Focused on Safe
and Healthy Families
Child abuse is more prevalent than most people are aware of and it happens in
every community. Even ours. A presidential proclamation in 1983 deemed April
as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, recognizing the need of teamwork
between families and communities to prevent child abuse. Fortunately, there are
organizations who do make a primary goal of helping children and families affected
by child abuse. I spoke with staff at the Court Appointed Special Advocates and
River City Family Connections offices in Yankton about their roles.
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program
I sat down with Sherri Rodgers-Conti, Executive Director of our CASA
program, located in Yankton. The organization trains people to be advocates
that work in the court system for abused and neglected children. Rodgers-Conti
explains the group as “the eyes and ears of the court.”
She explained the history of CASA to me. Forty years ago, a judge in Seattle,
Washington, had to come to a decision about a child’s situation. Deciding that he
could accomplish this with the help of others, he began training people to become
child advocates, training them to be objective and factual while observing the
situation and report the necessary information back to the court. This program
was so successful that several court systems followed this model. There is now a
National CASA Association, with just about 1,000 CASA programs in the U.S., six
of them in South Dakota. The Southeast CASA Program, is the youngest of the
South Dakota programs, starting about six years ago.
A teacher by trade, Rodgers-Conti has always had what’s best for children
in her mind, striving to make a difference in the lives of kids. Before her time
with CASA, she was previously working at Public Broadcasting as the director of
Education Services for the state. When the education department was eliminated
due to budget cuts, she applied for the position to implement the CASA program
after Judge Mary Dell Cody and a team of board of directors made the first steps
necessary to begin.
Not unfamiliar with CASA, Rodgers-Conti had heard about the program several
years ago after talking with someone leading a CASA program in another town.
CASA
Sherri Rodgers-Conti, Executive Director and Crystal Gemar, Case Manager.
River City Family Connection
Amy Haselhorst, Monitor/Education Specialist and Brad Link, Coordinator.
We protect it.
You live it.
I’m here to help life go rightTM – so you can enjoy it, while I help protect it.
Let’s talk about your life insurance options.
Rhonda L. Wesseln, Agent
Yankton, SD 57078
Bus: 605-665-4411
www.rhondainsuresyou.com
1601487
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