Right here in our community, there are abused and neglected children who live in the shadows. She may be the little girl in your son’s kindergarten class who had to move homes and change schools three or four times in the past year. He may be the lonely child at the park who doesn’t join the game.

The foster care and child welfare system is full of compassionate lawyers, judges, social workers and foster families, but according to recent statistics each year more than 748,000 children are placed in foster care nationally. In Santa Barbara County, there are more than 450 children in foster care. This intense need can strain the system to where the professionals are simply unable to know what a child needs, and therefore unable to protect the rights of each child.

So the little girl who has already suffered in an abusive home enters the foster care system, which places her in three or four different homes in just a few months. Or the two siblings who lost their mother to incarceration are split up and living on different sides of the same county.

This isn’t just a problem; it is nothing short of a violation of their human rights. A child cannot defend his or her own rights, but a CASA of Santa Barbara County volunteer can make sure the court knows what will best serve that child.

CASA is a nonprofit organization that trains and supports volunteers to speak and act as advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children. Volunteers are trained to work within the child welfare and court system, and are appointed by judges to individual cases. With the help of a CASA volunteer, a child is half as likely to languish in the foster care system and much more likely to find a safe and permanent home.

But today, in Santa Barbara County, only 41 percent of the children in need have access to a CASA volunteer. More than 275 children don’t have an advocate, and we must change this.

We are dedicated to ensuring that every child in the foster care and child welfare system has a qualified CASA volunteer looking out for his or her best interests. To do this, we will need to more than double the 174 current CASA volunteers in our county. Our volunteers come from every walk of life, each with their unique life experiences. This is what makes our program strong. We provide the necessary training and support — all that is needed is that someone care, and want to make a difference in a child’s life.

Every child has a right to do more than just survive, to be treated with dignity and to live in a safe, loving home. Our children must thrive, and learn, and grow up in a safe environment where they are free from fear. Every child deserves a fighting chance.

Once grown, these former foster kids could be our future doctors, teachers and leaders. Coming through a period of vulnerability and fear, the child can then understand his potential and his rights. She will believe in herself. That is our opportunity and our challenge.

I invite the people of Santa Barbara County to stand up with me and support these children. Please visit www.sbcasa.org and see how you can help.

The mission of CASA of Santa Barbara County is to ensure a safe, permanent, nurturing home for every abused and/or neglected child by providing a highly trained volunteer to advocate for them in the court system. For more information, contact Executive Director Kim Colby Davis at kim@sbcasa.org or 805.845.8364 x5981.

— Kim Colby Davis is executive director of CASA of Santa Barbara County.