Latest news with #BigCountryCASA
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
From CPS to Big Country CASA: Lee Ann Millender's lifelong commitment to advocate for children
ABILENE, Texas () – Working with children who may have been neglected or mistreated requires a big heart, and Lee Ann Millender has had that heart from the very beginning of her career. Supporting foster kids: Big Country CASA volunteers offer hope & guidance After graduating from college, she went right into work with Child Protective Services. 'God put me where he needed me,' Millender said. 'I graduated from college on a Friday and started to work for CPS on a Monday. So I can't say anything about that other than bringing my faith that God put you where he needs you.' Millender has worked to keep children safe for 35 years, first with CPS and for the past five years at Big Country Casa, as a court-appointed special advocate for children. Millender said the smallest actions have the biggest impact. 'There's not any more meaningful work than what we do to make sure that these kids grow up to be successful adults who are contributing to society in positive ways,' Millender said. 'We may think that it's just a little simple thing of showing up at school, being there in court, or even visiting in the foster home. It matters to these children. It validates that they mean something and that someone is watching out for them.' How Big Country CASA helps foster kids navigate the court system Dana Ward, who works alongside Millender, said that Millender's caring spirit creates a positive and uplifting atmosphere. 'Every employee that she that works underneath her really knows that she cares about them all the way to their heart, not just as an employee or as a subordinate, but as a human being that's doing this work because they care about it,' Ward said. 'She's not just a person who says we need to take care of kids. We need to take care of families. But she is a person who lives it out every day.' Ward shared that one of Millender's greatest qualities, perfectly suited for their work, is her keen eye and compassionate heart for others. 'I love that Lee Ann gets to look at our families and look at our kiddos in a very unique way. She really genuinely wants whatever's healthy for our family and healthy for our community, not what looks exactly like someone else's family,' Ward said. 'She sees the diamond in the rough. She sees the potential behind people and families and kiddos. It's important to have someone who not only is for the people, but of the people.' HOW TO WATCH: KTAB's 'Change a Child's Story' special & forum featuring volunteers According to Ward, Millender's position isn't just a job for her — it's something that comes from the heart. 'She genuinely wants to see growth in whatever way, shape or form that looks like for families. I think that's important because our community isn't made of cookie-cutter people,' Ward said. Milender became the executive director for Big Country CASA in 2020. Throughout March, four women will be recognized on BigCountryHomepage for their remarkable efforts in the community. The winner of this year's Remarkable Women contest will be announced on April 1, 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
HOW TO WATCH: KTAB's ‘Change a Child's Story' special & forum featuring volunteers
ABILENE, Texas () – When children are removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect, they face an uncertain journey through the child welfare system. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are trained volunteers appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of these children. Our 'Change a Child's Story' special will highlight the impact of Big Country CASA volunteers through powerful testimonials, real-life legal resolutions, and an inside look at the dedicated individuals who give children a voice. KTAB's 'Change a Child's Story' special will air at 6:30 p.m. on March 26, offering valuable insights into Big Country CASA's role in the community. The panelists for the special include: Kasey Leavell – A one-year volunteer and member of the CASA Board of Directors. Rob Davidson – A volunteer since 2019, Air Force veteran, and active member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Jonathon Leverton – Recently sworn in as a volunteer; has experience in foster care. Lee Ann Millender – Executive Director of Big Country CASA. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Big Country Resilience: CASA volunteers help foster kids find their path
ABILENE, Texas () – Theresa Collins and Jonathan Leverton grew up in foster care, facing different challenges but sharing the same desire — to be seen, heard, and valued. Family pictures of Theresa Collins show just her and her sister after she was seven and went into foster care. 'It's devastating, and you don't know what's going on. We went to a foster home that really didn't want us to be there,' Collins recalled. Their foster family seemed fine to the naked eye, but behind closed doors, Collins said it was a different story. 'It was a nice family from the outside. They used to time our showers and make my sister and I shower together, and they would say, you have 2 minutes total for the shower together. They would stand at the door with the timer,' Collins explained. How Big Country CASA helps foster kids navigate the court system As a child, her biggest wish was simple: she wanted a family picture. 'They would always ask me to take the picture, right? I got to be behind the camera and take the picture of our family,' Collins said. 'I was never on a Christmas card, and I was never a part of that family picture. So being on a Christmas card was like a dream of mine.' After about two years, a speck of light came into her life through one person, a court-appointed special advocate, or CASA. 'My CASA volunteer is the first person who ever made me feel special, capable, worthy. I felt like she saw me. Hearing that at nine years old, when you've never heard those words of encouragement from anyone in your life before, it was striking, and it stayed with me,' Collins said. Defying Gravity: Best friends speak at ACU on life with Down syndrome Jonathan Leverton entered the system at 12 and shortly moved to an all-boys home, where he said he grew up in a military-style lifestyle. 'I ran for hours down that road where he would just make me run back and forth, back and forth, to try to get the discipline out of me, which I don't know. The way I was raised is I'm not going to let him break me,' Leverton said. He said that during his time in foster care, he was fighting to go back home, reluctant to face the reality of his home life. 'I thought I had a role as the older sibling to defend my father. So, I never really wanted to concede that maybe there was some justification for us being removed. So I can remember when we initially were separated, my whole stance was to get us back home, and if that meant lying, if that meant being manipulative, that's what I thought it would take,' Leverton said. He built connections throughout the unknown with those around him, which made the transition easier. 'Just to get to interact with those kinds of guys who we were all on the same playing field because we were separated from our family for a variety of reasons,' Leverton said. After he aged out of the system, he joined the Marine Corps, where he left an impact on kids in Iraq by helping to build an orphanage. Leverton did not have that person by his side when he was in the system, something he shared he would have benefited from. 'We never consistently got the same person. When a new person would come and pick us up to take us to visitation or whatever, we could always tell that they were just barely getting a scratch of the information with us,' Leverton said. Now, both are ending the cycle of hopelessness, with Leverton becoming the person he wished he had and Collins embodying the person she did have. 'It just gives me a different mindset and more of an open heart to just be patient with them and let them kind of be willing to break those walls down, and we can do it together. I can kind of help them navigate that process and show them, 'Hey, this is what worked for me,'' Leverton said. Collins opens up about overcoming the shame she once felt as a foster child. 'I pushed it way out of my reality. My ex-husband never knew I was in foster care. Actually, he had no idea that I was ever a foster kid. It surprised him when I started talking about it a few years ago,' Collins said. Abilene teacher aims to become America's Favorite Teacher, Voting ends tonight Now, she is using her story to inspire every kid to be #fosterkidfierce. 'I want every foster kid to feel deeply foster kid fierce,' Collins said. 'To say I can do this. I can change the world. I can be the next president because of my experience as a child, not in spite of it but because of it. I have this tool bag.' CASA is currently seeking more volunteers to help out with foster children in our community. Visit Big Country CASA online to find out how you can join. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How Big Country CASA helps foster kids navigate the court system
ABILENE, Texas () – A Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is a special volunteer who works to ease the confusion that often occurs in the courtroom for children in the foster care system. Putting ease in the mind of a child can be a difficult task, and the struggles that foster children face in general can be a considerable challenge alone, but having to face those challenges in a courtroom can put greater tension on an already confused child. Defying Gravity: Best friends speak at ACU on life with Down syndrome This is where CASA advocates come into play. They help children with these stressors and seek to quell any fear the child may be experiencing. Board of Directors member and CASA volunteer Kasey Leavell spoke to some of the emotions these children face when sitting in a courtroom. 'They're anxious. They're nervous. They're not sure what's going to happen. A big part of being their advocate is shielding them from a lot of that. They are potentially seeing people that they don't really want to see. They don't have a good relationship with. In court, you're sitting right next to them, and often, they're either holding your hand or looking at you before a question is answered so that they can make sure they're good to answer. You're really there from a support perspective and to be able to help fill in the gaps around some of the situations,' Leavell explained. Remarkable Women: Liberty-Grace Bland, a heart for Abilene & the arts CASA volunteers do much more than just that. They spend considerable time with children outside of the courtroom, which, as Leavell explained, can be crucial in helping a judge decide a child's future. 'We write a court report due to the judge ten days prior to court. The judge is able to read that to get a real picture of what's really going on with the kid, not from a legal perspective, not from an education perspective. Holistically. So, he or she is reading that court report, and they're able to determine where we're at in the case and what's needed for the child,' Leavell said. The tremendous amount of care, effort, and time these volunteers endure culminate in the simple goal of ensuring the best outcome for these children in foster care. 'We're really trying for reunification, and so we're not there to bash the parents. We are not there to advocate for adoption. We want permanency, and we want what's best for the kid,' said Leavell. CASA is currently seeking more volunteers to help out with foster children in our community. Visit Big Country CASA online to find out how you can join. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
