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How CASA volunteers support Central Oregon foster youth: Season of Sharing 2025
How CASA volunteers support Central Oregon foster youth: Season of Sharing 2025
How CASA volunteers support Central Oregon foster youth: Season of Sharing 2025

Published on: 11/30/2025

This news was posted by Oregon Today News

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Kira Akito, a former foster youth, formed a long-time connection with Court Appointed Special Advocate Dick Ross, who helped Akito navigate foster placements and find independent living resources.Debbie Ross and a former foster youth, Willow, pose for a photo. Ross and Willow have stayed in touch as the teen embarks on her studies at Central Oregon Community College.Debbie Ross, a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate, is a voracious reader and enjoys picking out donated books to give the foster youth she mentors.Debbie Ross, a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate, is a voracious reader and enjoys picking out donated books to give the foster youth she mentors.Heather Dion, executive director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Oregon program, poses for a picture outside of the office. The agency is seeing an increase in the number of foster youth in need of their services, Dion said, but no corresponding increase in donations.Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Oregon, in Bend, provides volunteers to mentor youth in the foster system and to advocate for their wellbeing in court.Court Appointed Special Advocates help hundreds of foster youth in Central Oregon each year, but as the number of foster youth in the area increases, so too does demand for their services. In late fall, nearly 100 youth were waiting for a CASA.Stuffed animals, books, school supplies and more resources for foster youth fill the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Oregon office in Bend.The Deschutes County program of Court Appointed Special Advocates started in the early 1990s, but in 2005 merged with Crook and Jefferson Counties to become Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Oregon.CASA volunteer Debbie Ross and employee Lena Felt browse a bookshelf with books for the volunteers. Volunteers must undergo 40 hours of training for their roles and several additional hours of continuing education each year.Stuffed animals, books, school supplies and more resources for foster youth fill the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Central Oregon office in Bend.

Kira Akito wasn’t open to help when he first met his court appointed special advocate, Dick Ross, about eight years ago.

News Source : https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2025/11/how-casa-volunteers-support-central-oregon-foster-youth-season-of-sharing-2025.html

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