Providing a Voice for a Child Through Foster Care

Providing a Voice for a Child Through Foster Care
Emily Dant & Arden Bakarich

Athens-Clarke County Library • Athens, Georgia • 706 613 3650

Online Class/Workshop: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 2:00 pm
Zoom link: tinyurl.com/38vukvt2 (No registration is required)

Please join us online at 2:00 pm on April 28 for a talk by Mss Emily Dant & Arden Bakarich of Clarke Oconee CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children). They will talk about their organization and foster care, and the Zoom audience will be able to interact with them.

There are approximately 270 children in foster care in Clarke and Oconee counties. These children can be placed far from home, outside their school district, and away from friends. Navigating these changes and many more associated with foster care would be difficult for anyone especially a child. CASAs are able to provide stability and advocacy as a child moves through foster care. Providing a voice for a child means developing a relationship with them and remaining up to date on their life. CASAs help tell a child’s story in their own words.

Program Coordinator Emily Dant and Advocacy Coordinator Arden Bakarich have been with Athens Oconee CASA for several years, both starting as interns with Children First Inc. Emily began in 2016 and was named Program Coordinator in 2019; Arden was hired in 2018 with a focus on recruitment. Both enjoy teaching volunteers and community members about what it means to provide a voice for a child in foster care.