About Voices
Mission
Voices for Children speaks on behalf of abused and neglected children in St. Louis city foster care.
Vision
Every child lives in a safe, nurturing home where he or she has the chance to reach his or her potential. Voices child advocates make this happen in child time, where a day can seem like an eternity.
Model of Advocacy
Voices’ model of advocacy is to match a City CASA advocate with a skilled child advocacy attorney to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in foster care.
This nationally recognized model is innovative: it integrates the legal and child welfare expertise of a children’s law center with the passion and continuity of court appointed special advocates.
Voices child advocates identify and expedite needed education, health and mental health services and progress towards a safe, stable, permanent home.
The result: children are given hope and a voice – the difference starts today and can last a lifetime.
The Need
Every day, judges, child welfare professionals and caregivers make decisions that affect children who, through no fault of their own, were removed from the care of their parents and brought into state custody.
These children, who have the most to gain or lose, have the least power in the decisions made by the court and the professionals who are responsible for their well-being.
Voices child advocates are the only people whose sole focus is the best interests of the child. Our advocates give our children a powerful voice in decisions about where they will live and go to school, whether and how often they can spend time with siblings and other relatives, how long they will be in state custody and where they go when they leave foster care.
