Monday, Mar 22, 2021
We are thrilled to welcome Stephanie Parks as our new Case Coordinator! Stephanie has worked in the field of child welfare and social services since 2014. She most recently worked for Children and Family Services in Sacramento County as an Emergency Response Social Worker for four years. Stephanie wanted to continue working with children and families, but in a different setting. CASA was that change she was looking for.
Her primary emphasis in her new role is to ensure that she is being the support system CASA and volunteers need. She says "My firsthand experience working with children and families provides an opportunity to share my knowledge with the volunteers and be of best assistance and support to them.” She wants to “contribute, be aware, be present, be open all while following the CASA motto which is Do not harm. I want to add to the vision and goals of CASA not take from it."
Stephanie believes that the impact of CASA advocacy work is a positive one. She says that “A child in foster care who is lucky enough to have a CASA advocate in their life could change the outcome of that child’s life. Children with CASA volunteer are more like to graduate high school and go on to enroll post-secondary education.” She believes that the CASA advocacy work also has a needed impact and says that "children in foster care can see just because they were put in the system doesn’t mean they have to stay in the system.”
Stephanie is hoping to also achieve awareness through her new role and wants for everyone to know about CASA, and a huge difference it makes in a foster child’s life. She says “When a child in the system meets a CASA advocate who is truly committed, they’ll find that they have met a lifelong person who is there to support them and be there through all the hardships and milestones when others weren’t.”
In her free time, Stephanie loves taking vacations and getting away. A nice drive listening to her favorite songs always soothes her. She also enjoys yard work, cleaning and taking nice walks. Her favorite are cooking shows, horror movies, crime shows, reality shows, and, most of all, being with her family.
Stephanie says that she is just a normal person trying to change the world one day at a time, "If my experience as a Social Worker and now a CASA Case Coordinator can help achieve that, then I served my purpose on this Earth.”
Join us in welcoming Stephanie to a big CASA family!
