Henrico County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is seeking volunteers to serve as advocates for abused and neglected children in the court system.

Henrico CASA will conduct a free, six-week training program for volunteers from 6-9 p.m. each Tuesday and Wednesday beginning Tuesday, Jan. 11 at its office in the Hungary Spring Office Park, 3001 Hungary Spring Road, Suite A. Potential volunteers must apply for the program; applicants will undergo interviews, background and reference checks as well as fingerprinting and local criminal checks.

To apply or obtain additional information, contact Jeannine Panzera at 501-1673, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or log on to http://www.henricocasa.org The d.eadline to apply is Monday, Jan. 3.
CASA volunteers serve as the voice of abused and neglected children in the court system. They come from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds; legal experience is not required. Participants receive training to conduct interviews, research and investigate cases, provide written reports for Juvenile Court judges and assist child welfare professionals and case attorneys.

Last year, volunteers served as advocates for 277 children, donating nearly 10,650 hours to their cases.

Henrico CASA is a private, nonprofit organization that works closely with the county's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. For more information, log on to the CASA website.