New home secured for CASA




Each day, there are more than 400,000 children in foster care in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The nonprofit advocacy group Children’s Rights, which seeks to reform the foster care system in the U.S., said children in foster care might be separated from their siblings, moved from home to home without much warning or, in the worst cases, exposed to abuse.

For foster kids in Ventura County, the Camarillo-based chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates is looking to make a difference.

With a new office on Mission Oaks Boulevard, the nonprofit will have more room to help.

More than 50 people came out Jan. 31 for the grand opening of the offices of CASA of Ventura County, the local branch of a national organization that recruits, screens, trains and supports volunteers to advocate for foster children.

The Camarillo branch of the nonprofit was long housed at the Flynn Road administrative offices of the Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families but moved in May to a pair of second-floor suites at the Ventura County Community Foundation building.

Teresa Romney, executive director of CASA of Ventura County, said the group had to put off the grand opening due to scheduling conflicts, but they were thrilled to finally celebrate the move into their new offices.

She said that at the foundation building they’ll have enough space for 10 employees as well room for volunteers.

Vanessa Bechtel, president and CEO of the Ventura County Community Foundation, said the child advocacy group will fit right in with the other organizations in the building.

CASA of Ventura County began in 1985 under the umbrella of other groups, but it became an independent nonprofit in 2011.

Now CASA has an office of its own, and Cheryl De Bari, chair of the CASA of Ventura County board of directors, said the ribbon-cutting was a momentous occasion.

“This is a milestone in our growth and a milestone in our progress,” she said.

With the new office, Romney said, CASA of Ventura County wants to expand its reach beyond the approximately 350 foster children it pairs with about 220 advocates each year.

“All of the community coming together enables us to take care of more kids,” she said.