Bagleys Named CASA Advocates of Year

Healthy Connections congratulates Sabrina and Greg Bagley, who were recently named the CASA Advocates of the Year for Garland County.

Sabrina is a Collaborative Care Tier II Registered Dental Hygienist at the Healthy Connections Chippewa location in Hot Springs. They have demonstrated Healthy Connections’ pillars of Excellence, Compassion, and Community.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children in order to provide children with a safe and healthy environment in permanent homes. They are also known as Guardians ad litem.

“Greg and Sabrina have been with us since 2017 and have done an amazing job advocating for the two sisters in their case. The Bagleys traveled each month, sometimes twice a month, to ensure their CASA kids had stability and their needs were being met,” said Desternie Sullivan, Executive Director of Tri-Lakes CASA. “They were respectful to parents and facilitated their placement with a relative. In a short period of time, Greg and Sabrina made a huge impact in the kids’ lives inside and out of the courtroom. They have received praise for their concise, detailed and thorough court reports from DHS, the judge and all of the attorneys.”

Greg and Sabrina serve their cases together in Garland, Hot Spring, and Grant counties.

“Nearly 700,000 children experience abuse or neglect t each year. Instead of playing with friends and incurring happy family memories, abused children are most often transitioning to new homes, new schools and attending court hearings, along with coping with the trauma that they have endured,” Sabrina said.

Sensing a need, the Bagleys began volunteering. Once a judge appoints them to a case, they function as independent appointees of the court to assess the child’s needs in the courtroom and community, including medically, with strict confidentiality and anonymity. They monitor the actions of the child, family members, the case plan activity with DHS, professionals and other parties that come in contact with the child.

The Bagleys then ensure the court’s orders are being strictly adhered to in between hearing dates. They gather information and become the eyes and ears of the court with the child’s best interest in mind. The judge can then use the Bagleys findings to make better-informed decisions regarding the child’s future, including but not limited to a safe, permanent home that is best suited for the child.

Their goal is to be consistent, caring adults who bring a calming peace and hope to the children they are assigned to.

“That the truly most difficult times in their young lives id not define them, but instilled in the young minds and hearts that someone cares enough about them that they believe in themselves that they are capable of achieving any dream and goal that they set before themselves,” Sabrina said.

For more information about CASA, please visit: http://www.tri-lakescasa.org/