January is known as a time for vision. It is a season to look ahead and make commitments for the new year. However, before we move forward, there is benefit in reflection. At Henrico CASA, we are using this time to meditate on our core values, remembering what is most important to us. Our core values are our agreed upon beliefs and we want to diligently apply them in our present and future decision making.
Join us this month as we walk through each of our values.
Value 5: Stewardship of the Resources Entrusted to Us
We will use our resources carefully to help ensure we can serve all children who need us.
Henrico CASA serves more children than all of the other CASA programs in Virginia. By employing volunteers as advocates, we are able to serve many more children than our staff could support on its own. Each year, our staff trains and supervises more than 100 volunteer advocates. The value of CASA volunteers’ time is more than $300,000/year in service to Henrico County.
Thanks to this financially efficient model, Henrico CASA’s cost to serve one child for one year is only $1,500. The comparable cost per child for alternatives is significantly higher.*
- Basic Foster Care cost is 4-5 x CASA
- Residential Treatment cost is 45 x CASA
- Juvenile Justice Care cost is 160 x CASA
Monies invested in Henrico CASA are dollars invested in our children and our community. We take stewardship of these resources seriously in order to maintain our commitment to vulnerable children and Henrico’s court system.
There is a sense of unity in reflecting on our values, because these are shared beliefs among friends to our mission. What are you doing in 2023 to show that you value stewardship?
*Costs summarized from FY’21 data provided by Virginia’s DCJS.
