Richard Mattingly has spent much of his life in the world of education. After growing up in Houston, he headed to Austin to attend the University of Texas and became a high school math teacher. He then continued his own education before working for the University of Texas for 27 years in the education department and as the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.

Now retired, Richard plays the guitar, loves music, movies and reading, and spends time travelling, cycling, meditating and volunteering. Richard has a 22-year-old son and will be getting married this June to his wonderful fiancé. Read more

Children who come to the attention of CPS have already experienced abuse or neglect; however, removal of a child from his home and familiar surroundings, especially when followed by placement in foster care with strangers can be just as traumatizing, if not more so, than the situation that brought the child to CPS's attention in the first place. Fortunately, when there is a parent who is willing and eager to begin services that will correct the problems in the home and there is supportive and protective family or friends who are willing to keep the children safe, it can be possible to keep kids from having the State of Texas as their parent, even on a temporary basis. Read more

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness about the needs of children and families across our country. Last year in Travis County alone, almost 2,000 children were brought into the care of Child Protective Services after having experienced abuse or neglect in their homes. Here is one CASA volunteer’s story of advocating for two young sisters to help them reach a safe, permanent home and stay connected with their family:

Felicia and her baby sister Noemi have smiles that could melt your heart, in spite of having gone through a lot in their young lives. When Felicia was two, the girls were removed from their young mother’s home when her immaturity and inability to care for her children proved too unsafe for them. The girls were far behind in their development, and Felicia displayed aggressive behavior and had not yet begun talking. At first, the little girls went to live with relatives, but this home quickly proved unsafe as well and the children were placed with a foster family. Read more

Dawn Crane was born in Michigan and raised in Ohio. Being stationed at Fort Hood brought her to Texas over 20 years ago. She has a one child and 3 dogs.

Dawn’s an entrepreneur with two small businesses including a cosmetics company that she will be re-launching this summer. Dawn loves to hike on Austin’s many trails and head to Colorado for skiing when she can. She also enjoys vintage and antique shopping.

Dawn has been volunteering with CASA of Travis County for a year and a half... Read more

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the United States. But I was born in Honduras, and no one was there to prevent what I endured at the hands of my father.

He was a doctor with a good job. He also was often drunk and abusive. By the time I was 9, he had left 57 scars on my body. He came home drunk one night and began beating my mother. I jumped in to defend her, and he attacked me too.

After that he was gone. But as the oldest in the family, I had to work. By age 16, I had come to America to support my family. I went to live with my godmother, but she began selling me to whoever paid the most. It would be six months until the police rescued me. Read more

America is a country where all of us should be able to pursue our own measure of happiness and live free from fear. But for the millions of children who have experienced abuse or neglect, it is a promise that goes tragically unfulfilled. National Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time to make their struggle our own and reaffirm a simple truth: that no matter the challenges we face, caring for our children must always be our first task.

Realizing that truth in our society means ensuring children know they are never alone -- that they always have a place to go and there are always people on their side. Parents and caregivers play an essential part in giving their children that stability. But we also know that keeping our children safe is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors and the broader community. All of us bear a responsibility to look after them, whether by lifting children toward their full potential or lending a hand to a family in need. Read the full proclamation.

I’m so impressed by the courage you’re showing by being here, the sacrifice you’re showing by being here. One of the most precious things in our life is time. You can’t make it and you can’t get it back… once it’s gone it’s gone. Your actions being here tonight - giving your time to kids - gives me a great deal of hope for our community.

What you’ve decided to do in this journey you’re joining me and each other on is to try to make that one difference for a child. We may not be able to change the world, but if we can change, in a good and positive way, the life of one person, there’s a trickledown effect. It just multiplies exponentially… the people that you impact through that one human touch that is positive, good, safe, healthy, supportive, nurturing, and constantly there. Read more

If I were to try and identify what seems to be a similar aspect in CASA cases I’ve worked on, including my work with CASA programs in Louisiana and Illinois, it would be the uneven efforts and/or expectations between mothers and fathers in child welfare cases. Sadly, too many fathers are either AWOL, incarcerated for vital chunks of their children’s lives or they’re present but may not be as significant to the process as they should be.

The child is in the care of the state and all the parts of the machine have began churning in order to return the child home or place them with relatives to achieve permanency.  During this process sometime we don’t shine the light under the paternal rock as long as we should. What can be discovered underneath can turn out to be a valuable key to permanency as well as the child’s emotional well being. Read more

Melissa Winans was born in Montana and grew up moving around a lot for her father’s career in the air frame industry. Her longest stint in one place was in Colorado Springs where she ultimately got her bachelor’s degree from Colorado College.

After college, she worked for the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, and then made the move to Austin to go back to school for her PhD in Geology at UT. She is now retired from a 36 year career working in technical support for the Texas Natural Science Center. Read more