VOICES FOR CHILDREN AWARDED $250,000

(January 23, 2012) San Diego, CA  Voices for Children announced a major grant of $250,000 from the Price Family Charitable Fund. Voices for Children's President/CEO Sharon M. Lawrence, Esq. noted, "This wonderful award is a tribute to the dedication and hard work of our volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), who are helping the abused and neglected children living in San Diego County foster care. The Price Family's generous support moves our organization closer to the ambitious goals of our Serve Every Child initiative, aimed at providing CASAs to every foster child who needs one by 2016."

Price Family Charitable Fund's grant will launch VFC's new Early Assignment of CASAs Program (EACP) which matches volunteer CASAs to children entangled in foster care as soon as the children enter the dependency system. As with VFC's core CASA Program, these highly trained and supervised volunteers become experts about their case children and provide crucial information to the judges making decisions about the cases. The one-year funding supports needed human resources as well as an evaluation component and operational costs for the fledgling early assignment effort. The Price Family Charitable Fund's investment also supports VFC's overall goals of capacity building and program growth to serve more San Diego County foster children.

VFC is seeking additional funding, as well as volunteers, for both the Early Assignment of CASAs Program and its Serve Every Child expansion plans. VFC's 800+ volunteers contributed nearly 54,000 advocacy hours last year-$1.3 million worth of service. This year, even more time will be spent with 1,400 abused, neglected children receiving the sustained, personal attention, and advocacy of a VFC CASA volunteer. However, thousands of local children languish in foster care without a CASA, and that is why VFC has made a commitment to put a CASA volunteer into the life of every child who needs one by 2016.

 Early Assignment of CASAs Program (EACP)

Many of the 5,000 children in San Diego County foster care have been there for years with little hope of ever going home to their parents or being adopted. For these children, the prognosis is grim. Statistics indicate increased incidences of drug abuse, delinquency, school failure, and teen pregnancy for children who have lived for years in foster care, and after they grow up and age out of foster care, unemployment and homelessness are pervasive.

VFC believes it is vitally important for every child, whenever possible, to have a family - forever. The goal of EACP's intervention is to help ensure that children do not spend years in foster care and do not experience the trauma that too often results in such negative outcomes. The sooner a child has a CASA, the sooner the CASA can begin the research, investigation, and advocacy on behalf of that child, making it more likely he or she is raised by a family, rather than by a system.

Directed by Martha Crowe, Vice President of Programs at Voices for Children, the fully operational EACP will eventually include eight staff, with four EACP Program Supervisors, each overseeing approximately 45 CASA volunteers. The Program Supervisors will guide their CASAs in case management, helping them assess the biological parents' ability and readiness to have their children returned to them safely and permanently. If this is not possible, CASAs will investigate the next best option - placement with a relative, adoption by a waiting family, or, sometimes, guardianship. In addition, CASAs will get to know their assigned children on a very personal level and will figure out what that particular child needs - and make sure she gets it. In this way, thanks to the generosity of the Price Family Charitable Fund, each child will get the services they need to address the trauma of their abuse and subsequent separation from their parents.

Voices for Children Auxiliary Group, Makua,

Releases "Voices from the Heart," CD Featuring Local Musicians,

with Proceeds Benefitting San Diego Foster Children

(December 2, 2011) San Diego, CA  Voices for Children, has taken their outreach efforts to a new level with the creation of a recording of original music by San Diego-based musicians. Proceeds of all CD sales will benefit Voices for Children (VFC), the only nonprofit organization that trains volunteers to be Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), working on behalf of children in San Diego's foster care system.

Titled "Voices from the Heart," the compilation CD release party will take place on Saturday,. The event December 17 from noon-2 p.m. at San Diego Harley-Davidson in Kearny Mesa features a free BBQ, and a performance by the Lacy Younger Band and other artists on the CD.  The event marks the official call for submissions for the second CD in the series. Artists will be able to submit their original recordings for Volume 2 through the Makua website.

This project was the brainchild of singer-songwriter Lacy Younger, whose 2007 hit, "Something You Do," remained on the U.S. Top 40 chart for 12 weeks. Lacy became a supporter of Makua after she performed at the group's 2008 fundraiser. Inspired by the passion and spirit of the Makua members, Lacy decided to join their endeavor to raise funds for and increase awareness of Voices for Children.

The artists on "Voices from the Heart," Volume 1 of a planned series of compilation CDs, were selected from a call for submissions, gathered from November 2010 through May 2011. The professionally mastered CD features 11 artists, whose musical genres range from alternative to pop, rock, country and reggae. The 12-track CD is $13, and available for purchase through the Voices for Children and Makua websites. All proceeds benefit the CASA Program at VFC.