Commitment to Anti-Racism

Children’s Voice: CASA, Inc. (CVCI) condemns all forms of racialized violence and humbly mourns the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of Law Enforcement and white citizens. Black communities, across the country, are hurting deeply. Members of Douglas County are hurting deeply. Members of our CVCI family and the CASA community, at large, are hurting deeply. Our hearts ache for the families of George Floyd, James Scurlock, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and so many more. They should be alive today.

Children’s Voice: CASA, Inc. is an organization that strives to make Douglas County a community where all children and families can not only survive, but thrive. We must not be silent. We must lift our voices about the murders, white supremacy, systemic racism, and injustices that Black Americans continue to experience. Ardently, we stand with our Black colleagues, the Black children/youth and families of Douglas County, and our partners and collaborators in child welfare, who know Black Lives Matter. The pain and protests throughout our nation speak a message that every citizen must hear.

As a society, we have significant work to do. No adult or child should ever face violence at the hands of the very structures that should protect them. We recognize the need for all of the systems that affect children and families – our child welfare system, education system, healthcare system, criminal justice system, and others – to uplift justice and become actively anti-racist. Systemic racism’s impact leads to injustices faced throughout daily life. The impact creates the disproportionality in outcomes that we must work to redress in child welfare. The unjust pressures on Black families must be swiftly and decisively transformed as part of the core work of child-serving agencies.

The process of becoming anti-racist requires deep introspection and a willingness to understand the histories of inequality that have shaped our systems. It also requires openness, courage and a fierce will to transform them. And we are eternally indebted and thankful to our Black staff members who have not only driven our Cultural Competency and Cultural Humility (CCCH) initiatives, but are also committed to educating our CASA volunteers, court stakeholders, and yes, white leadership, in an effort to dismantle racism in our organization and in ourselves. 

We are committed to becoming and being an anti-racist organization. The majority of our staff has attended The People’s Institute for Survival & Beyond’s 3-day Undoing Racism Workshop. We open each staff meeting with a CCCH Moment, to share, learn from and hold each other accountable in our anti-racist journeys. We will ensure that our organization can be the best version of itself, from the inside out. We will never be perfect, but we will work to do better every day.

 We pledge to:

• Listen to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) voices and leadership as we strive to become better advocates for all children and families
•  Seek better ways to serve communities of color, to ensure that resources are equitably available and that the violence they face comes to an end
• Continue to engage in courageous conversations, education and collaboration that brings about the hope of change to systemic barriers that prevent children of color from experiencing the safety, permanency, and well-being they deserve.

To those fighting for justice, fairness, dignity and rights of our children and families, we deeply grateful for you. For all those feeling and experiencing the pain and suffering in a more visceral way, we are with you. In the names of George Floyd, James Scurlock, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and too many others, we rededicate ourselves to build the world we want young people of all skin colors to grow up in, healthy, safe and equitable. Join us. #BlackLivesMatter #UseYourVoice