Terrified, confused about what she’s done to make her daddy so red in the face, and sorry . . . oh so sorry . . . whatever it was she did, the little girl cowers in the corner waiting for the first blow. Just one of the hundreds of Boulder County children abused or neglected each year, she knows she must deserve it. She’s a bad girl.

Living in utter filth, his mother hooked on drugs and his father disabled, the ten-year-old boy finds nothing better to do than to set small fires. Neighbors find him wandering outdoors at 3 a.m. His parents don't seem to care.

When the staff and volunteers at Voices For Children encounter such tragedies, they know what to do.

With a well trained and deeply committed cadre of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), they respond quickly when a court appointed attorney asks them to work with the most severe cases.

CASAs' top priorities: spending time with the child, cultivating trust, and providing valuable information and a voice for the young victim in court proceedings. The ultimate goal is a safe, permanent home where the child can thrive.

Knowing how abuse and neglect often are transmitted through generations, the CASA may support the parents once the child experiences some stability and consistency. As role models, CASAs show parents how to nurture and how to gain access to low-cost resources.

While the people at Voices For Children focus largely on intervention, they also attend to prevention. That's why they created the "Growing Your Child" program. By sharing information about infant and child development, they guide families toward building a caring, loving, stimulating home environment.

With all their hard work and dedication, maybe someday Voices For Children will put themselves out of business. We can only hope so.