CASA of the High Plains and the city of Pampa, Lefors and Miami have officially proclaimed that April is Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention month.
Since 1994, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of the High Plains has been advocating for children and families of the Texas Panhandle through a dedicated team of volunteers and staff whose mission is to improve and protect the lives of neglected and abused children.
The CASA program was designed in 1977 by Judge David Soukup from Seattle, WA who wanted to know more about the children whose lives were in his hands and came up with the idea of asking community volunteers to act as a “voice in court” for children.
In 1994 after finding himself asking the same questions about making the right decisions in child protection cases, Judge Lee Waters of Pampa brought the program to the Texas Panhandle, covering Hansford, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Hemphill, Roberts, Wheeler, Gray and Donley counties.
Alissha Jefferis has been with CASA since 2012, starting as a volunteer before becoming the executive director in 2015.
“We advocate for children in the foster care system over eight counties in the Texas Panhandle. If a child is removed from the home and entered in the foster care system from any of those counties, we are automatically appointed to advocate for that child. We advocate for their education, medical-we take information from anybody that is involved in that child’s life and put it together and build a report and go to court for them so we can speak for them on their side about what they need and what is best for them.”
“Judge Waters was seeing the CPS cases and he heard of the program and felt like we had a great need for it in our area. It’s really hard as the judge because you’re sitting there making decisions on these children’s and families’ lives and I just feel like him along with other judges didn’t feel like they had enough information and wanted to know more and be more informed.”
“Our volunteers aren’t getting paid to do this, they’re doing it out of the kindness of their heart because they care. Once I started as a volunteer, I did it because I just wanted to do something to help, I wanted to help change lives. It’s an absolute dream job for me.”
The proclamation reads as follows:
WHEREAS, in Federal fiscal year 2024, the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services confirmed 61, 062 victims of child abuse or neglect, including 185 in Donley, Gray, Hansford, Hemphill, Lipscomb, Ochiltree, Roberts, and Wheeler Counties; and
WHEREAS, child abuse and neglect is a serious problem affecting every segment of our community, and finding solutions requires input and action from everyone in our community; and
WHEREAS, our children are our most valuable resources and will shape the future of Texas; and
WHEREAS, child abuse can have long-term psychological, emotional, and physical effects that can have lifelong consequences for victims; and
WHEREAS, protective factors are conditions that reduce or eliminate risk and promote the social, emotional, and developmental well-being of children;
WHEREAS, effective child abuse prevention activities succeed because of the meaningful connections and partnerships created between child welfare, education, health, community- and faith-based organizations, businesses, and law enforcement agencies; and
WHEREAS, communities must make every effort to promote programs and activities that benefit children and their families;
WHEREAS, we acknowledge that we must work together as a community to increase awareness about child abuse and contribute to promote the social and emotional well-being of children and families in a safe, stable, nurturing environment;
WHEREAS, prevention remains the best defense for children and families;
WHEREAS, the impact of abuse and neglect has long-term personal, economic and social costs; therefore, hurting Texas’ future;
WHEREAS, Court Appointed Special Advocates® – CASA volunteers – are assigned by the court to speak up for a child’s best interest and help ensure a child’s voice is heard;
WHEREAS, every child in foster care deserves a CASA volunteer, but roughly less than half the children in care do not have a CASA volunteer;
WHEREAS, 8,281 CASA volunteers spoke up for the best interest of 20,169 children in Texas last year;
WHEREAS, CASA of the High Plains, Child Protective Services, Child Advocacy Centers, foster parents, teachers and others work to ensure that children in our community have a safe, happy future;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, LANCE DEFEVER, MAYOR OF PAMPA, TEXAS, do hereby proclaim April 2025 as NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH in PAMPA and urge all citizens to recognize this month by dedicating ourselves to the task of improving the quality of life for all children and families.
