PHOTO COURTESY OF JARED PABEN
A longtime Hermiston volunteer was honored by the governor’s office last week for her work with local children in foster care.
Chris Hull, a volunteer with CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) of Umatilla County, received the 2014 Governor’s Elders Volunteer Award presented by Secretary of State Kate Brown during a luncheon in Salem on Thursday.
“Chris Hull has spent the last 11 years pouring her time and love into serving nearly 100 children within foster care in Umatilla County,” said Jesus Rome, coordinator for CASA of Umatilla County. “Chris has worked hard at cultivating community partners like child welfare, attorneys’ offices and juvenile court staff.”
Hull joined CASA 11 years ago. She had previously been a special education teacher, working in Stanfield before joining the staff at Hermiston High School and then Sandstone Middle School. She said her background in special education played a big role in her decision to become a CASA volunteer.
“When you’re a teacher, you get to know kids who have been mistreated,” she said. “Becoming a CASA volunteer was a way for me to stay involved with these kids.”
CASA volunteers advocate for abused and neglected children and work to find a safe and permanent home for them. Rome said Hull’s background “has been an invaluable asset in regard to foster care children with disabilities. Case workers and school staff, in particular, take her input seriously regarding the educational needs of the foster care children.”
Over the years, Hull has helped nearly 100 foster care children find safe, permanent homes.
“This is quite a remarkable undertaking when one thinks about the incredible life challenges that each foster care child must go through,” Rome said.
Rome said one case stands out as an example of Hull working to do what is best for children. It involved two sisters, barely over 2 years old, who were placed in foster care because of drug and alcohol problems with their parents. While in the care of loving foster care providers, the girls’ biological parents were to go through treatment programs in order to get their daughters back. The parents, however, continued to fail their drug tests and the girls’ case lingered in the court system for another two years.
During this time, the girls had bonded with their foster care parents, who had come to love the girls and wanted to adopt them. Hull strongly argued in court that the foster parents should be able to adopt the girls. The court agreed with Hull and the foster parents were able to adopt the two sisters.
“Not long after the court’s decision, Chris heard from the adoptive family and they shared that the children were thriving and doing well with their new family,” Rome said.
Hull said she doesn’t volunteer to receive awards, but added that she was excited when she heard the news of her honor. She said receiving the award from Secretary of State Brown made the award even more special.
“She was so delightful,” Hull said. “She spoke to every person there and had something personal to say to each of us.”
Rome said more volunteers like Hull are needed for CASA. In fact, CASA will officially take over the program in Morrow County on May 1 and is in need of volunteers.
“At this point, we only have one volunteer in Morrow County,” Rome said. Anyone wishing to become a CASA volunteer should contact Rome at 541-564-6878 or email him at jrome@umchs.org.
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