{"id":2636,"date":"2021-02-11T15:13:49","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T23:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/?page_id=2636"},"modified":"2021-03-10T10:01:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T18:01:50","slug":"advocating-for-children","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocating for Children"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t
\n\t\t

Advocating for Children<\/h1>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Melodee Hanes<\/h2>\n\t\t

\"\"<\/p>\n

Melodee Hanes<\/strong> shares an alarming statistic from a 2009 study by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Conducted to determine how many children in the United States have been exposed to violence at home, school or in the community, the study concluded that more than 60 percent of the 24,000 youths surveyed had been exposed to violence as either a direct victim or a witness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must, as a society, protect our children with all of our effort,\u201d she says. \u201cTheir futures depend upon it, and CASA\/GAL programs are a critical piece of the answer to this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of the study, Melodee was serving as assistant administrator of the OJJDP, and would become acting administrator soon after. Earlier in her career, she was a prosecuting attorney, taught child abuse law and worked on the U.S. Senate staff. When her husband was appointed U.S. ambassador to China, she worked with the All-China Women\u2019s Federation on the implementation of their first domestic violence laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the hundreds of criminal cases I handled involving children under 18 years of age, the CASA\/GAL volunteers helped prevent cases from languishing and also gave the child an independent voice. The
\nCASA\/GAL volunteer is critical in determining the best interests of the child.\u201d<\/p>\n

An alumna of Theta\u2019s Delta Lambda Chapter at the University of Utah, Melodee believes, \u201cWe have a moral obligation to leave this Earth better than we found it. Instilling that notion in young women through Theta\u2019s support of CASA\/GAL programs is fundamental to achieving the \u2018nobler womanhood\u2019 we have all pledged so many times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCASA and GAL volunteers help protect the most vulnerable of those among us: young children who have experienced abuse and neglect. They give that child a voice when they cannot speak for themselves.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t<\/i>\n\t\t

Celebrating Our Partnership<\/h2>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t

30 Stories of Impact and Support<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPrevious\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\tHome<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNext\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read More…<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":2490,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"casa-template.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2636","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdvocating for Children - National CASA\/GAL Association for Children<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children - Advocating for Children - The National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, together with state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advocating for Children - National CASA\/GAL Association for Children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children - Advocating for Children - The National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, together with state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NationalCASAGAL\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-10T18:01:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/casagal_redblue.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"712\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"526\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NationalCASAGAL\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/\",\"name\":\"Advocating for Children - National CASA\/GAL Association for Children\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-11T23:13:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-10T18:01:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children - Advocating for Children - The National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, together with state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Celebrating Our Partnership\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Advocating for Children\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/\",\"name\":\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children\",\"description\":\"Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL)\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/casagal_redblue.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/casagal_redblue.png\",\"width\":712,\"height\":526,\"caption\":\"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NationalCASAGAL\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/NationalCASAGAL\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nationalcasagal\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/national-casa-gal-association\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NationalCASAGALAssociationforChildren\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Advocating for Children - National CASA\/GAL Association for Children","description":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children - Advocating for Children - The National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, together with state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Advocating for Children - National CASA\/GAL Association for Children","og_description":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children - Advocating for Children - The National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, together with state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.","og_url":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/","og_site_name":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NationalCASAGAL\/","article_modified_time":"2021-03-10T18:01:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":712,"height":526,"url":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/casagal_redblue.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@NationalCASAGAL","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/","url":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/","name":"Advocating for Children - National CASA\/GAL Association for Children","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-02-11T23:13:49+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-10T18:01:50+00:00","description":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children - Advocating for Children - The National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL) Association for Children, together with state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/advocating-for-children\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Celebrating Our Partnership","item":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/celebrating-our-partnership\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Advocating for Children"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/","name":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children","description":"Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) \/ Guardians ad Litem (GAL)","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#organization","name":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children","url":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/casagal_redblue.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/casagal_redblue.png","width":712,"height":526,"caption":"National CASA\/GAL Association for Children"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NationalCASAGAL\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NationalCASAGAL","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nationalcasagal\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/national-casa-gal-association","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NationalCASAGALAssociationforChildren"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2636\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}