three million that is the number of children reported each year as victims of abuse neglect in the united states that means about twelve out of every thousand children up to the age of eighteen in the united states were found to be victims of  maltreatment a report of child abuse is made every ten seconds hello my name is tammy sullivan a casa advocate for the washington county casa for kid program children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect which is happening in our country state county and neighborhoods and washington county over three hundred seventy five of these children have been identified as victims of abuse or neglect and declared dependent in the juvenile court system these children are often removed from their homes and placed in kinship or foster care often the children are scared confused and feel like they have no say in what's happening to them these children need your help to give them a voice in the court system and to speak up for their best interest each of us have the power to make a profound difference for these children by becoming a casa kurtley washington county casa court appointed special advocates has one hundred seven children assigned to our program of which seventy of those children have a cost advocate we have thirty six children that are waiting for a volunteer advocate volunteers are trained to work as fact finders and write reports for the judge prior to a hearing these advocates become the extra set of eyes and ears for the judge the voice for these children and bring a significant assistance to a terribly overburdened system the goal of the casa program would be to have a casa advocate for each child who has experienced abuse and or neglect in washington county the casa staff provide supervision and individual support for the volunteers in advocating for these traumatized children throughout the year casa for kids holds fundraising events to help general support for the program which trains community volunteers to speak up for the best interest of these children april is child abuse prevention month this year we will be holding our annual spring gala fundraiser chefs for casa april fifteenth at the bella sara events venue it will be our ninth chefs for casa fund raising with your help and support we can continue to advocate for the stability in these children's lives so they can lead normal productive lives our guest today will be chef just seppi from bella sara we're also fortunate to have with us vivian who is the executive director for the washington county casa for kids as well as staff members and casa volunteer herself so vivian hi tammy well thank you it's another year another year for our i nine years we've had chefs and it's been a tremendous support for our program really is i understand the chef for costs is the big fundraiser at our largest fund raising event we have made over one third of our annual budget at chefs for cost get support from the community as well as our wonderful chefs and restaurants that participate and it just really is a fun evening and have a wonderful mix of jazz and saw frock and just really a fun evening guys is there dancing to there is some time oh ok and the other nice thing is we honor and recognize our volunteers at the event because without our volunteers this program would not be possible and and right now we're in the midst of a training are our spring training program will be it started actually last night so we'll be training throughout the month of march and then these new volunteers will be sworn in in april again for awareness of child abuse prevention and eyes nice well i would like to baby explore who can be a cost saw i mean who you know tell me what tell me what their look like other than you and i right well you know first of all there's a desire to help children and this is unlike any other kind of volunteer work because you have to be trained and you have to be supervised our volunteers must be over twenty one years of age ok they go through background checks and then the training now we train two times a year in the this time year in the spring this is considered spring and then we also train in october in the fall and that training is thirty hours of training and quarter observation because we really want the volunteer to be knowledgeable about the system and why children are are involved in the juvenile dependency system understand issues surrounding families that are very strained where the children and youth services need to get involved or so the training is very intense but you the volunteers learn a tremendous amount about our court systems as well as our social service system and how to advocate for the child they get assigned to sure so our next class will be starting in october ok two thousand and sixteen and of course more information will go out about that it will also be on your website it's always on our website our website is a wonderful resource to really learn about the roles of across advocate we have some short stories about the impact cost this fifth can have had on a child's life and the impact can be from something as small as the child hasn't had any clothing for the season change to as impactful as as a support for their education or medical needs depending upon their case will advocate for all kinds of issues with a child sure it could be a medically neglected child it could be a child that  has school issues or emotional issues because of their abuse or neglect and that voice that casa will make sure that that child gets that extra support lies and lies and it is possible i know many costs  in fact most do work full time yes and they advocates are you know in their spare time for these children and this is not just for people who are retired or on we have we really do have a cross the board gambit type of people and in terms of the the their work or not work the important piece is to be willing to commit some time the training is intense no doubt it's thirty hours than plus court observation that's a lot of time but once you get assigned to your case and once it starts rolling we find that it's an average of anywhere between ten and fifteen hours a month to give to your child and a lot of that is really involved  in seeing your child getting to know them and understanding their needs so that when you go to court you can talk on behalf of their best interest ok all right very nice very nice and i think we want to  express you know that you know let your family let your friends know about this fundraiser because this is our biggest and we we you rely on the support  our community and we have a very small staff there's only three of us but we have right now we have thirty eight advocates speaking on behalf of all those seventy children but we still need more advocates and that's why we're training and that's why we need funds to expand our staff and support more volunteers lies ok great all right well thank you vivian and i appreciate getting her today we're going to take a break and when we come back we're going to have che couch we're going to talk to him about our chefs for casa thank you i'm a research analyst small business owner teacher dance business instructor film and television actor i'm enough is clear i'm a copywriter i'm a veteran i have approached other play i have multiple sclerosis i have lupus cerebral palsy post traumatic stress disorder i'm blind and i'm working in a job i love i love because i was given a chance because i was given the chance to contribute my skills and talents to show my disability is only one part  get checkups dr dentist visits hospital care prescriptions and more you child's may qualify based on your family size in income it's one less thing to worry about calmly go on line to enroll now why w i'm glad that you came out today we really appreciate it it's a pleasure good and an honor to participate as well good well we're so excited everything you have prepared thus far in the past for our fundraiser has been because again this is going to be towards the spring time and i know a lot of you know a lot of things are coming into season and i like to stay local as possible so i'm just going to to see what really the season has to come and not sell but as far as we do you know outside social events yet you guys have i know you have a need easter brunch coming up all right yes it's phenomenal i understand i will recommend twenty viewers to basically make a reservation ahead because we do get very those as well sure well we can't think you are not for what you folks give to the children you know that you make this charity possible for us to raise money to help advocate for these children we are truly truly grateful to  well once again it's an honor and a pleasure to participate like i said for a good cause of this one here i know that sarah is always involved in community and to help out as much as we can see and this is one of them shall well think of washington county casa for kids also donating to our dinner who could not be here with us today i'd like to think jonathan blast like executive chef and owner of our lee keno which represents the heart and soul which is family along with the creativity from their chefs who prepare different nightly menus and desserts joda mico owner frankel's to toria joe and his restaurant offers the best in casual find italian dining the two locations in south wales offers exquisite foods and impeccable service franco's menu offers mouthwatering entrees with the freshest ingredients daily michael  angelo's restaurant as a third generation of restaurant two year michael is known for his colon area arts and jewels menu feature selections like spaghetti and meatballs that is his grandparents proudly his grandparents pro served but also includes an expanded menu to delight the palate of even the most discriminating guest in the seventy seven years of business angelos has managed to carry on the family tradition of serving great food and appreciation for every every everything to mourn owner of barter and house bakery bartrum house offers a full line of baked goods desserts whole being coffee and tea ice cream confections they also have a  homemade menu for an early morning breakfast to a lady named snack additionally they're delicious cakes can be ordered for birthdays weddings any special event chefs for casa will be held friday evening april fifteenth event venue doors will open at six thirty for cocktails an hors d'oeuvres followed by a full course sit down dinner there will be live entertainment by adam brock and history will we will be ruffling prizes throughout the night and tables o chinese auction items this event is filled with fun for everyone but let's not forget our purpose we must raise funds to sustain the washington county chapter of casa for kids in order to give a voice to the children  in desperate situations children who cannot help themselves and give them the opportunity to live happy productive lives we must all pitch in and do our share so please call now and make your reservations please dot com and remember speak up for a child