The Hill Country chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates invited the public to learn how CASA supports children in the Hill Country at their open house event April 23.
Amid the privatization of the foster care system in Texas, many resources for children became less accessible. To support children in foster care, as well as at-risk youth in the community at large, Hill Country CASA opened up their Peterson Visitation Center last year.
“Last year, we opened this facility as a response to the privatization of foster care. There is no local office for our new private foster care system, so this serves as a home base,” said Stephanie Cash, Hill Country CASA Executive Director.
The Peterson Visitation Center is a safe place for children who are waiting to testify in court, transferring into foster care or visit parents while supervised by a caseworker. The facility’s versatile and unique features allows the center to support children in a variety of situations.
“For our child welfare partners, we have these two visitation rooms that are set up for parent/child visits as well as therapy sessions. Their caseworker can make an appointment, and book a private visitation room to do their service,” said Cash.
Both visitation rooms are equipped with toys, games and comfortable seating to create a relaxed environment. One room features a changing table and rocking chair as well for families with babies. Beyond the visitation room walls, a family’s case worker can observe without intruding.
“The Child Services Board donated these one-way mirrors. It looks like a mirror on the inside but on the outside, the observer can look and listen in on headphones. This allows us to shut the door and give a family privacy,” said Cash.
The center also provides support for families needing to fill out paperwork, access resources, or get some supplies to become a foster parent.
“A lot of our parents don’t have computers or internet access. So if a parent needs to get on a computer to do a psychological evaluation we have computers and printers here. For those cases where relatives live far away, or the parents move in the middle of the case, we have a hybrid conference center where off-site meetings can work seamlessly,” said Cash.
The room that sees the most activity in the Peterson Visitation Center is the Hope Closet. Kerr County Child Services Board hosts the Hope Closet which is kept outfitted with resources for children in foster care with immediate needs.
“The caseworkers can access the materials in the Hope Closet. We frequently are giving out the diapers, the wipes, the formula. We also keep school supplies, quilts, some clothing items, games, and luggage. We also have these Relative Caregiver Licensing kits with carbon monoxide detectors, a fire extinguisher and anything that, if missing, would prevent a relative’s home from being suitable for fostering a child,” said Cash.
To support Hill Country CASA and the Peterson Visitation Center, consider donating gift cards to local clothing stores, school supplies, and hygiene products for infants, children, and women. All donations must be new/unused as the Hill Country CASA is not allowed to accept used donations.
For more details about how you can help Hill Country CASA support at-risk youth in our community, visit their website by visiting www.https://hccasa.org/resources/peterson-visitation-center.