GM Financial, team members recognized by CASA of Tarrant County
Written by Jake Stevens, Public Affairs, Marketing and Communications, GM Financial
In November, GM Financial was honored with the
Dr. Karyn Purvis Award for being an outstanding voice for children
Dec. 3, 2021 – For more than five years, GM Financial has been a proud supporter of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Tarrant County.
CASA is an organization of volunteer advocates who stand up on behalf of abused and neglected children, with the goal of providing a highly trained advocate to every child in foster care.
In November, GM Financial was honored with the Dr. Karyn Purvis Award “for being an outstanding voice for children,” a reflection of the company’s continued support for CASA’s mission to advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves.
CASA advocates are tasked with talking to a child and the child’s family members, teachers and others to find out where the child will be happiest and safest, and then speak on the child’s behalf in court.
Jennifer Neal Garrett, Vice President Customer Experience - Customer Engagement, was among the first GM Financial team members to volunteer as a CASA advocate in Tarrant County. What drew her to CASA, of all the charitable organizations in North Texas, was the unfortunate fact that Tarrant County is among the Texas counties experiencing the highest rates of child abuse and neglect.
Children who are the victims of abuse or neglect, Jennifer said, deserve a voice, a friend, an advocate — someone who’s not an attorney, caseworker or Child Protective Services agent — to be there for them.
Because of the challenges that accompany complicated legal proceedings and imperfect services like foster care and adoption, children who have experienced abuse or neglect have few constants in their lives. They can be removed from their homes, schools and day cares and even separated from their parents and siblings, but CASA volunteers often serve as a steady presence in a child’s life in addition to their duty to testify in court on a child’s behalf.
“I get to listen and pay attention to the details of the child’s life,” Jennifer said. “Then I get to go to court and testify about how the child is doing, how they’re affected by the situation they’re in. I think that’s really what I enjoy about it. It can be tough, it is a commitment, but it’s so rewarding.”
Volunteering with CASA differs from other volunteering opportunities in that CASA volunteers are obligated to fulfill their role as an advocate until the case assigned to them is resolved, which can take several months. Advocates must also receive more than 30 hours of preservice training and are sworn in by a family court judge before being assigned their first case. In the five years Jennifer has committed to volunteering with CASA, she has been appointed as an advocate for three court cases.
Though becoming a CASA advocate can be demanding, several other GM Financial team members have also answered the call, including Veronica Munoz, Servicing Operations Support Analyst.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, CASA volunteers have visited with their CASA child virtually over the past year. Though some saw this arrangement as an obstacle, Veronica seized the opportunity to do something special.
In her first case as a CASA volunteer, Veronica discovered how difficult it can be to keep a 6-year-old child engaged using video chat alone. And though she’s unable to visit the child face to face, she found a solution that would provide a tactile experience the two could bond over.
“I decided I would drop off activities that we could later do together when I checked in via Zoom,” Veronica said. “My CASA child loves art, so each month I go to a craft store and pick out an activity.”
Veronica and her CASA child have created sand art and made jewelry with beads. They’ve also painted magnets, wooden butterflies and ceramic figures and decorated with stickers.
“My CASA child looks forward to receiving my package each month. She will ask what’s next, and we have the opportunity to relax and chat while we work together on the project,” Veronica said.
“I have kept some of the projects we completed together, and when I see them, I think of my CASA experience and the child. It’s a very small gesture, but I feel like it helped take the pressure off our check-ins and made conversations easier.”
Veronica is still doing monthly projects with her CASA child and looks forward to the holiday-themed projects she has planned for the next few months. She was honored with CASA’s “Most Creative Virtual Visit” award for her unique approach.
According to CASA, 1,106 children were supported by volunteer advocates in 2020, but there are currently more than 500 children in need of an advocate. If you are interested in becoming a CASA advocate, visit the CASA of Tarrant County website.
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on GM Financial’s intranet site, The Hub, in December 2021.