{"id":42481,"date":"2025-05-05T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/?p=42481"},"modified":"2026-01-27T12:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:18:22","slug":"if-you-could-see-what-ive-seen-the-last-45-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/2025\/05\/05\/if-you-could-see-what-ive-seen-the-last-45-years\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Could See What I\u2019ve Seen the Last 45 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-image42481_1b41e6-3b .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image42481_1b41e6-3b size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"341\" src=\"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1-1024x341.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-42482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1-1024x341.png 1024w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1-228x76.png 228w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1-768x256.png 768w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1-18x6.png 18w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FY25-FCM-email-banner-v.1-1.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear Friends,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you could see what I\u2019ve seen over the past 45 years, you wouldn\u2019t be able to look away. It\u2019s why I\u2019m still doing this work \u2014 <strong>and why I hope you\u2019ll stand with us by <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/de\/\"><strong>supporting Texas<\/strong><\/a><strong> CASA during Foster Care Month.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I started my career in the late 1970s. I\u2019ve served as a juvenile probation officer, legislative liaison, trainer and director \u2014 eventually leading the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission for 16 years. Across every county in Texas, I\u2019ve stood with those trying to save kids from a system they never chose for themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I became CEO of Texas CASA in 2012, the focus on children remained \u2014 but the urgency only deepened.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve seen what happens to children who fall through the cracks. I\u2019ve seen them shuffled between placements, misunderstood in classrooms and criminalized instead of counseled.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I\u2019ve also seen the difference one caring adult can make.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve seen CASA volunteers walk with a child through the hardest chapters of their lives&nbsp;\u2013 sitting beside them in court, showing up at school and refusing to let them be invisible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve seen children return safely to their families, begin to trust again and start building a future they never thought was possible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Texas CASA we develop the training, resources and services&nbsp;that make sure those Texans who take care of the children are taken care of too.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why we need you with us.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No system is perfect, but we\u2019re working to make it kinder, stronger and more just. With your support, we can keep showing up for the children still waiting to be seen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you could see what I&#8217;ve seen over the last four decades, you\u2019d know this work matters. Please don\u2019t look away. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/donar\/\">Join us in assuring every child has a CASA in their corner<\/a><\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image42481_0b7429-c6 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image42481_0b7429-c6 size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"341\" src=\"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature-1024x341.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-42483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature-1024x341.png 1024w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature-228x76.png 228w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature-768x256.png 768w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature-18x6.png 18w, https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Vicki-Email-Signature.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Friends,&nbsp; If you could see what I\u2019ve seen over the past 45 years, you wouldn\u2019t be able to look away. It\u2019s why I\u2019m still doing this work \u2014 and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":41323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_gspb_post_css":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[89,96],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-42481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casa-voice","category-from-the-ceo"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":89,"label":"The CASA Voice"},{"value":96,"label":"From the CEO"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/texascasa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/VickiSpriggs1080-1024x1024.jpg",1024,1024,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kelly Clarke","author_link":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/author\/kclarke\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":89,"name":"The CASA Voice","slug":"casa-voice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":89,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":118,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":89,"category_count":118,"category_description":"","cat_name":"The CASA Voice","category_nicename":"casa-voice","category_parent":0},{"term_id":96,"name":"From the CEO","slug":"from-the-ceo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":96,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":96,"category_count":21,"category_description":"","cat_name":"From the CEO","category_nicename":"from-the-ceo","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42481"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/texascasa.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=42481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}