Why have a Strategic Plan?

Children-working-in-community-garden

Because in order to thrive, children need a support system that is strong, stable, inclusive, and knowledgeable.

Goals

1. Continue to provide high quality, best interest advocacy for children in the courts of the 16th Judicial District through trained, consistent, and supported CASA Volunteers and Bridges Coaches.
2. Center diversity, equity, and inclusion into every aspect of the organization.
3. Manage finances so the focus remains on prioritizing services.
4. Expand into the jurisdictions in the 16th Judicial District that are not currently served by CASA – Fluvanna, Madison, and Orange.

Infographic of Strategic Goals

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ADVOCATE

Continue providing high-quality, best-interest advocacy for children in the courts of the 16th Judicial District through trained, consistent, and supported CASA Volunteers and Bridges Coaches.

DEI

Center equity, diversity, and inclusion into every aspect of the organization. Create, resource, and implement internal impact plan.

FUND

Manage finances so the focus remains on priorizing services.

EXPAND

Expand into the 16th Judicial District jurisdictions not currently served by CASA: Fluvanna, Madison, and Orange.

Piedmont CASA Strategic Plan: 2023 - 2026

I.    Methodology

In the Spring of 2022, PCASA convened a Strategic Planning Committee comprised of the President, staff, Board members, and CASA Volunteers. As an initial step, staff and the Strategic Planning Committee created an electronic survey. The survey was distributed by email to PCASA staff, CASA Volunteers, and 160 professionals with whom CASA regularly interacts. CASA Volunteers were also encouraged to pick up hard copies of the survey, with self-addressed stamped envelopes, from the office to take with them on visits for both children and families to complete.

PCASA staff held several brainstorming sessions about how to best gather input from the families of children with whom our CASAs have worked. Unfortunately, we were unable to come up with any good resolutions considering the resources currently available. The obstacles that we encountered included concerns about retraumatizing families who had already been through the trauma of the foster care system, the lack of good contact information, the time and energy required to track down and then contact families at a time when staff is already stretched thin, and the cost of mailing hard copies of the survey (the best way to reach these families) only to have them go unanswered or returned unopened.

We received 49 responses to the stakeholder survey and five responses on the youth survey. We did not receive any hard copy survey responses.

The Strategic Planning Committee met in May, 2022 to review the survey results, conduct a Strengths, Problems, Opportunities, and Threats (S.P.O.T.) analysis, and to draft new Mission, Vision, and Values (MVV) statements for the organization. Revisions and edits were made to the MVV over the next few months, and then they were presented to the Board at the November, 2022 meeting. The MVV were electronically approved and adopted by the Board on December 1, 2022.

A strategic planning retreat was held on January 13, 2023. It was led by Kate Duvall (President) and Joel Reich (Board Member). Staff, Board members, and CASA Volunteers attended, and the plan detailed herein is the result.

This strategic plan is intended to guide Piedmont CASA into its third decade of serving children in the Central Virginia area. It is also meant to serve as a foundation and guide for the expansion of Piedmont CASA’s current service area into three new counties. The goals outlined in this plan are to be met within three years of its enactment.

II.   Executive Summary

Piedmont CASA is nearing its third decade of serving children in foster care due to allegations of abuse and neglect. Since our founding in 1995, Piedmont CASA’s Volunteers and Bridges to Success Coaches (founded in 2017) have supported and advocated for over 2,400 boys and girls in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa, and Greene. Guided by our mission, vision, and values statements, Piedmont CASA is looking toward the future and is focused on four primary goals:

GOAL 1:  Continue to provide high quality, best interest advocacy for children in the courts of the 16th Judicial District through trained, consistent, and supported CASA Volunteers and Bridges Coaches.

GOAL 2: Center diversity, equity, and inclusion into every aspect of the organization.

GOAL 3: Manage finances so the focus remains on prioritizing services.

GOAL 4: Expand into the jurisdictions in the 16th Judicial District that are not currently served by CASA – Fluvanna, Madison, and Orange.

At 30 years, we envision Piedmont CASA to be an intentionally more diverse and inclusive organization with increased connections to the communities we serve.  Piedmont CASA will be a champion for equity for youth and children, as well as their families, in these communities and in the systems that impact them. We will continue to provide high-quality services and best-interest advocacy to every child and family with whom we work.  Piedmont CASA’s Board, staff, and Volunteers will be more reflective of the population we serve. Our work will be informed by partnerships with the youth we currently serve or have served, as well as other underrepresented groups. Our service area will expand to include Fluvanna, Madison, and Orange, with Volunteers and Board members drawn from those counties. We will remain a financially stable organization providing competitive salaries and benefits to our staff, while supporting Piedmont CASA Volunteers as they continue to meet the needs of the children they serve.

III.    Organization Description

In 1995, Piedmont CASA started with two Volunteers and two children.  Over the past 27 years, we have provided well-trained and effective court advocates for children in foster care due to allegations of abuse and neglect in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa, and Greene. During this time, more than 760 men and women in our community have been trained to advocate for over 2,400 children.

For years, experts recognized that older youth in foster care were not thriving and that young men and women who turned 18 and "aged out" faced dismal outcomes. When we looked at our own cases, we saw older kids experiencing more frequent placement changes, often to more restrictive settings, further and further from home. They were not doing well in school, and certainly were not developing the soft and hard skills they needed to step over the threshold into adulthood.  In January, 2017, Piedmont CASA launched Bridges to Success. Today, three professional mentors provide 1:1 guidance and support to foster kids ages 13 to 18. The mentors may continue to work with young adults who choose to enter Fostering Futures and stay on our caseload up to age 21. Since its creation in 2017, Bridges to Success has served nearly 80 children in our community.

IV. Mission, Vision, and Values

What is a CASA?

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) are trained volunteers appointed by judges to advocate for children’s best interests.

What do CASAs do?

CASAs speak up for children experiencing possible abuse and/or neglect, many of whom are in foster care. CASAs build a relationship with the child, gather information, and collaborate with professionals in order to make recommendations to the court.

MISSION STATEMENT

Piedmont CASA provides best-interest advocacy for children in the courts of the 16th Judicial District of Virginia. We strive to make sure that every child experiencing possible abuse and/or neglect is safe, has a permanent home, and has the opportunity to thrive.

VISION STATEMENT

To create a community where every child is able to thrive in a safe, healthy, and loving home, and all families and children are treated equitably.

VALUES

CASA Volunteers and Staff work alongside youth, families, and teams with compassion, integrity, and consistency to advocate for the best interests of the child.  In our advocacy, we work to promote and implement equitable, culturally competent, and trauma-informed practices.

  • Best Interests of the Child
    • We put the best interests of children first.
    • We focus on finding appropriate services that create safety and healthy connections.
  • Compassion
    • We recognize the barriers that families face and respond with compassion.
    • We identify families and children’s strengths so we can advocate for solutions that help overcome obstacles.
    • We recognize the importance of the caregiving bond and work to maintain healthy connections. We advocate for maintaining and building natural support systems.
  • Integrity and Diligence
    • We are committed to being responsive, honest, fair, and humane.
    • We provide factual court reports that tell a child’s full story and provide a place for children to share their voice.
    • We are committed to being active participants on behalf of a child for the life of their case – seeing a child regularly, gathering relevant information, and relaying this information to the court.
  • Cultural Competency and Equity
    • We respect and celebrate diversity in all its forms. We listen. We learn. We are willing to change and push for change.
    • We believe that the safety and well-being of children can only be assured when equity and justice are pillars of our advocacy.
  • Trauma-informed
    • We recognize the impact of trauma and the importance of fostering resilience.
    • We attempt to lessen the effects of traumatic experiences by advocating for children.