UMATILLA COUNTY — The latest crop of local residents officially took an oath as the newest Court Appointed Special Advocates in Umatilla and Morrow counties via a video conference call on Wednesday, June 10.

The ceremony, which was presided over by Umatilla County Circuit Judge Eva Temple, was the program’s first ever to be held virtually and culminated its first-ever online training course for the eight women, who are now officially advocates for local children in foster care.

“A (Court Appointed Special Advocate’s) duties are to gather information from families, social service agencies, public safety departments, and other resources,” a press release from the program stated. “In order to have the full picture a (Court Appointed Special Advocate) also makes contact with the child and family and follows progress though appropriate treatment programs, which may include anger management and alcohol/drug programs.”

While connected through a Zoom call on Wednesday, each raised their right hands and swore an oath to advocate for and protect children in the area that are in the foster care system. But before doing so, each was also asked to reflect on why exactly they were taking the oath.

“I want to be a CASA volunteer because I’ve worked a lot with children and young moms who have gone through court troubles,” said Kori Hibbard, who lives in Pendleton and works with Umatilla County as a registered home nurse. “If I can just be an advocate for those children, then I’m pretty lucky to get to do that.”

Kristen Simpson, who was born and raised in Pendleton, wanted to become an advocate of the program ever since she began working in education. While she’s now an instructional coach for new teachers, Simpson spent 11 years as an educator and saw in her own classroom how the work of court appointed special advocates can help children.

Also taking an oath as the program’s newest community outreach recruiter and trainer, Karen Malcolm, who is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Malcolm was referred to the program by her son, Joe Malcolm, who became the first tribal member to serve locally as a court appointed special advocate in December 2019.

The Umatilla-Morrow Court Appointed Special Advocate program began with a Hermiston office in 2008 and operates under the umbrella of Umatilla-Morrow Head Start. Though the program added a Pendleton office in 2018, finding and recruiting volunteers from smaller communities in the two counties and who are representatives of the communities the program serves has proven difficult.

“From its start, the program’s goals have been to have an all-inclusive and diverse group of volunteers, which would include members from all ethnicities, but one desire was to focus on bringing more volunteers from the Latino and Native American communities,” the press release stated. “With her addition to the team, Umatilla Morrow CASA Program is pleased to have Karen Malcolm’s expertise and connection to the CTUIR.”

The other volunteers who were sworn in on Wednesday were Cia Cortinas, Dianna Melton, Rhonda Acock, Tierney Cimmiyotti and Maddie McCarl.

Each volunteer completed a “thorough background check” and 30 hours of training, and each will be assigned a mentor and will continue to receive training and education as members of the program.