The Indiana Retired Teachers Association (IRTA) selected Eugene Wease from Lake County to receive the CASA Award at their Annual Representatives’ Assembly and Awards Luncheon on June 14.
Each year, the IRTA recognizes an outstanding member who has served as a CASA director, staff member, or volunteer. The award was presented to Wease by Tom Mellish, Executive Director of IRTA, and Leslie Dunn, Indiana State Director of GAL/CASA.
The State Office of GAL/CASA and the IRTA began a partnership in 2007 to encourage retired teachers to become advocates for abused and neglected children. The partnership started when Wease was the State President of the IRTA and has continued for the last 10 years.
Wease and his wife, Jeanne, have served as CASA volunteers in Lake County since 2008, and have advocated for the best interests of many children in the Lake County Juvenile Court. Lake County has over 3,000 abused and neglected children every year. To meet the needs of all these children, Lake County developed a specialized triage system, called the Volunteer Initial Visit and Case Planning Team, on which Gene and his wife have served for several years.
The team meets weekly to review all new cases/children who come into the system, then visit these children to check on their well-being and provide needed information to the court.
Lake County Juvenile Judge Thomas Stefaniak and others rely on the information provided by CASA volunteers: “Lake County is extremely grateful to Gene Wease and his wife for their commitment to the Lake County CASA program. The child-focused information he and other volunteers provide to the court about children involved in the child welfare system is critical to our ability to make appropriate court orders for families and children.”
Wease was nominated for the IRTA award by Lake County CASA Director Rehana Adat-Lopez, who notes that “Gene’s dedication to the Lake County CASA program is unparalleled. He and his wife have played a critical role in helping Lake County serve the needs of the thousands of children entering the juvenile court system each year; their weekly participation in the Lake County VIP Team and their regular visits to children have helped ensure the safety and well-being of countless children.”
Indiana now has certified CASA programs in 81 counties. Last year over 4,000 trained volunteers donated 348,213 hours and advocated for 26,762 abused and neglected children. The Indiana Office of Court Services administers the State Office of GAL/CASA, providing funding and support to Indiana’s GAL/CASA programs.
For more information about becoming a CASA volunteer, visit casa.in.gov or childadvocatesnetwork.org or call 1-800-542-0813.