2022 Year in Review

2022 Board Reflections

This year has been a year of change for Maryland CASA. We transitioned back to in-person events -- you may have seen some of our Board members at the Baltimore Running Festival and our new office open house. You helped us in our new initiative to plant Pinwheels for Prevention to commemorate National Child Abuse Prevention month. We welcomed several new staff members, including our second-ever State Director, Camille Davis. Our network and community came together to celebrate the tenure of Ed Kilcullen and his transition to new adventures. The Board is grateful for the Maryland CASA staff's continued ability to deliver on our mission despite the changes. Most importantly, Maryland CASA staff continued to recruit and train more volunteers to be children's powerful voices in the courtroom. With the support of sponsors, donors, presenters, and attendees, we hosted two successful Institutes and a variety of trainings. 

As I look forward to 2023, I am excited about the possibilities, opportunities, and ambitious work ahead. From the upcoming training series The Intersection of Transracial Adoption & Racial (in)Justice and our 16th annual conference - Redefining Advocacy, to work by our DEIAB collaborative and in partnership with Maryland's fourteen local programs, we will continue to invest, grow, and move forward with Maryland CASA staff, and with you.

It has been a privilege to be on the Maryland CASA Board this year as just one small piece of what makes this vital work happen. From our Board to all of you -- our donors, partners, local programs, and CASAs throughout Maryland, please accept our deep appreciation for your support. With you, Maryland CASA will continue our mission to ensure every victim of child abuse and neglect their right to grow up in safe and permanent homes. 

Jackie Bowie

Board President

Maryland CASA Association

In November 2022, Maryland CASA announced Camille Davis of San Antonio, Texas as Maryland CASA's new State Director. Board President, Jackie Bowie said, "The Maryland CASA Board is excited to work with Camille as our State Director. She has an impressive breadth and depth of experience, and we are confident Maryland CASA will continue to thrive under her leadership." Read more about Camille.

We kicked off 2022 with a move from our 3rd-floor walk-up in Towson West to Towson East landing at 200 E Joppa Road. Our new, professional office space is still in downtown Towson but is easier to access, has more space, and loads of free surface parking. The move also was a great way to purge 20+ years of old "stuff." Please stop by and visit us in 2023!

In November 2022, after 29+ years of service with CASA, we said goodbye to our State Director, Ed Kilcullen.As word of Ed's retirement circulated in our community, many folks reached out to weigh in about his achievements and contributions to child welfare. Ed’s hard work, commitment, and dedication to child welfare in our state, country, and world are worthy of admiration and celebration. On behalf of everyone at Maryland CASA and the CASA Community, we wish him the best of luck in his retirement! Cheers to you, Ed!

Volunteer Inquiries

For 2022 Maryland CASA had 556 Volunteer Inquiries as compared to 557 in 2021. This slight dip in growth is a similar drop we see in regards to donor giving and our fundraising efforts for 2022. While the vast majority of these inquiries are from in-state, Maryland CASA has also assisted with volunteer inquiries from across the country. 

Statewide CASA Program Growth

Maryland CASA is incredibly proud of the work that the Lower Shore CASA team put in to the expansion of  their program. CASA of the Lower Shore is now serving Wicomico, Worcester, and Somerset counties. This expansion is not only invaluable to the children and families of the lower shore but also to our state as a whole.  With 23 out of 24 jurisdictions in the state of Maryland having active and thriving CASA programs, we are one step closer to achieving our mission of ensuring that every abused and neglected child in the state a safe and permanent home. Our Goal for 2023 is to expand CASA services to Garrett County, the last remaining county in Maryland without a CASA program. We believe that we are on the path to achieving that goal and look forward to bringing you that news in 2023.

Maryland CASA In-Service Training

Maryland CASA's 2022 In-Service Training Program was robust and carefully curated to provide our CASA volunteers, staff, and child welfare professionals training opportunities that make them stronger advocates for the children they serve.  Our free monthly webinars brought together knowledgeable educators and child welfare experts who presented on strength-based language in foster care, youth and the justice system, engaging family and caregivers, and understanding the traumatized brain, just to name a few! In 2022, Maryland CASA offered 17 free training webinars and two full-day institutes. With close to 1,500 attendees overall, our team decided to expand our free in-service training opportunities to 2-3 webinars per month including occasional evening events! 

Training Attendee Testimonials

Six New On-Demand Learning Courses in 2022

In 2022 we worked hard to develop, create, and release 6 new on-demand courses on our Litmos learning management platform. These courses are one of many learning modalities we provide to our CASA statewide network in order to acknowledge learning styles, diversify learning topics, and provide learning opportunities that are available anytime, anywhere further meeting the needs of our volunteers lifestyle. There are over 20 courses available on our Litmos on-demand platform. New courses added in 2022 include: Equitable Languages in Foster Care, Reporting Abuse and Neglect, How to Manage Volunteers, Permanency for Youth with Incarcerated Parents, Volunteer Screening (offered to staff), and Tips for Effective Court Reporting.

Reflections on DEIAB Collaborative & Booklet Publishing 

This year Maryland CASA created its first DEIAB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging) booklets for CASA staff and volunteers. These guides (staff and volunteer editions) serve to support all programs in the Maryland CASA network in their holistic development and implementation of DEIAB-centered programming. This booklet includes helpful infographics, flowcharts, glossaries, and information on how to be a volunteer who values equitable advocacy.

We have already shipped over 500 copies to local programs, and our digital versions online have received 831 views, with CASA programs across the nation downloading and disseminating these guides to their volunteer supervisors and CASAs! We are so excited it has been so well received and hope it will be an invaluable tool to our network and those advocating for youth and children in other states!

Celebrating 25 Years in 2023

Thanks for all you've done to support the CASA mission in 2022. We look forward to all we can accomplish together in 2023!