CONLEY JOINS ADVOCATES FOR FOSTER KIDS, URGES VOLUNTEERISM ON THEIR BEHALF April 14, 2009 Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today joined child advocates, former foster children, and others to support the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, which matches trained volunteers with foster kids to ensure that their voices are heard. “I wonder how many of the criminal cases we see each year could have been avoided if the defendants had the support of an advocate when they were children,” Conley said during the ribbon cutting ceremony for “Forgotten Children,” which placed on Boston Common 100 cardboard cutouts, each representing 100 Massachusetts currently in foster care. “Cases of child abuse and neglect have skyrocketed in Massachusetts, and at the center of each of those cases is a child who needs steady support.” Conley joined members of CASA Boston, the local branch of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program; Child Advocate Gail Garinger; foster care survivor Keshia Morall; and others at the event. Morall, a 22-year-old Lowell native and senior at UMass Boston, recalled her own experiences growing up in group and foster homes. “The biggest problem was never having a stable person in my life,” she said. The Court Appointed Special Advocate program trains civilian volunteers to speak on behalf of an assigned child in the court hearings that determine that child’s placement – whether with his or her family members, in a foster home, or elsewhere. The advocate researches the child’s background and family, then makes a recommendation to the court that is in the child’s best interest. “Forgotten Children” will be on display near Park Street station through April 19. For more information, please visit the CASA Boston website for more information. Return to the Press Releases page.