Men across Riverside County are being asked to volunteer as advocates for boys in the foster system.
Voices for Children, a nonprofit organization, is seeking to add volunteers to its Court Appointed Special Advocates program.
In the county, about 49% of the 5,900 children in foster care each year are boys, but only 17% of program advocates are men, a news release states.
Today, 55 boys in the county await an advocate. More boys are entering foster care each day, the release states.
There need for men of color and those who are bilingual in Spanish and English is especially urgent. Volunteers who live in rural areas also are key, as foster children in such areas often must wait longer for an advocate.
Voices for Children trains volunteers “to support youth in foster care as they navigate an often confusing and frightening time in their lives, advocating for their needs to the court,” the release states.
Many of these children have endured abuse or trauma and lack “a reliable male figure or positive male role model in their lives,” according to the release.
Advocates in the program are paired with one or two children at a time. They work with “social workers, caregivers, attorneys, and other professionals to ensure that a judge has all the information needed to make well-informed decisions for a child in foster care.”
Jessica Muñoz, president & CEO of Voices for Children, said in the release that “we need men in Riverside County to speak up for boys in foster care now.”
Information: speakupnow.org
