Texas Jewish Post: CASA celebrates 40 years in Tarrant County

From Texas Jewish Post:
Rhoda Bernstein looks back in amazement at the fact that she was able to spearhead the arrival of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program to Tarrant County 40 years ago.

“I always say it’s the best thing I ever did,” said Bernstein, a lifelong Fort Worthian and member of Congregation Ahavath Sholom who has a background in counseling. “It’s an amazing legacy and it’s very meaningful to this day to think about all of the kids who were helped through the organization. I was at the right place at the right time. I had no idea of the impact it would make.”

Bernstein spoke at a CASA 40th anniversary event on Sept. 14 at River Ranch Stockyards in Fort Worth. The event celebrated four decades of providing safety, permanency and healing for children.

Back in 1983, Bernstein did an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in which she pleaded for prospective volunteers. The caption under her photo even read “looking for help.”

At the time, Tarrant County had 260 children in foster care.

As of last year, Tarrant County CASA’s 579 volunteers served 1,098 children, only 65% of the estimated 1,652 children who were in need of the organization; 43% of the children served are 5 years old or younger.

Fort Worth Report: Pilot program provides creative ways to find families for foster children

Via Fort Worth Report

Denee Borchardt is working to expand the courts’ concept of family to help foster children.

“Kids need to be with their families unless it’s just absolutely not possible,” said Borchardt,  program director at Court Appointed Special Advocates of Tarrant County. 

With that mission in mind, she has led the CASA of Tarrant County to adopt a pilot program that creatively connects a child with family members like grandparents or close kinships such as a neighbor, a favorite teacher or any distant relatives. The initiative is called Collaborative Family Engagement. 

Although the child may not have a direct family member to offer support, the pilot program’s main focus is to find someone else who can through more nontraditional connections, Borchardt said

In many cases, the children would say that they “don’t have any family,” thinking of immediate family, but these connections can be family friends and extended family. Borchardt said each person can have up to 300 of those connections. 

Historically, if family members couldn’t be considered as a foster parent for the child when the case was opened, they were dismissed and forgotten, Borchardt said. That might mean an older sibling who was still a minor or a grandparent with little resources would never again be an option as a foster parent.

The staff’s work

Denee Borchardt, program director at CASA of Tarrant County, was honored with the 2023 Liberty Bell Award by the Tarrant County Bar Association. (Courtesy | CASA of Tarrant County)

Child advocacy specialist LaZedrick Blackshire coaches volunteers to explain to teenagers in active cases the importance of connecting them to their immediate family. The volunteers talk to the kids about what they want and value when connected to a foster family. These volunteers evaluate all of this information in the cases thoroughly to ensure the child is placed with the best possible caregiver. 

“Getting to know the kid helps you know who they would want to depend on in the future,” Blackshire said.

Once the staff members have identified the best options, they ask if the connection can provide care and resources for the child, Borchardt said. There is always the risk that they can’t, but Borchadt said it is always worth trying.

In June, CASA of Tarrant County received a $10,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to boost the pilot program. 

Program Director Denee Borchardt Featured On The Faces of Fort Worth

Via The Faces of Fort Worth: “I grew up in Fort Worth with my parents and younger brother. I attended Paschal HS and graduated in 1996, then entered college at Texas Wesleyan University. I attended TWU for 2 years before transferring to Tarleton State University where I graduated in 2001. I began my child welfare career at CPS around 2001 as an investigator at the Child Advocacy Center. I worked high profile cases dealing with severe physical and sexual abuse. In 2005, I promoted to Investigative Supervisor, where I supervised 6-8 investigators. In 2007, my father passed away and I resigned from DFPS for 3 years. In 2010, I returned as an Investigative Supervisor until my departure to CASA of Tarrant County in 2016. I have worked as the Program Director at CASA, supervising 5 supervisors, 20 specialists and 400+ volunteers. I truly feel that my life’s purpose is to ensure families receive the support and resources they need to best care for their family. I want to make the most out of my one sacred life, and feel that giving back to those with limited opportunities and resources is my way to do this.”

Tarrant County Children and Families Involved with Child Welfare System will Benefit from Texas Bar Foundation Grant to CASA of Tarrant County

Fort Worth Report: Tarrant County Children and Families Involved with Child Welfare System will Benefit from Texas Bar Foundation Grant to CASA of Tarrant County

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (June 5, 2023) — CASA of Tarrant County was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from Texas Bar Foundation to support CASA of Tarrant County’s Collaborative Family Engagement Pilot to improve permanency for foster youth & create replicable frameworks for other CASA programs. More CASA volunteers are needed to serve the abused and neglected children on CASA’s waiting list – volunteers who will speak up for the child’s best interests and make sure the child doesn’t have to face foster care alone.