DANVILLE — This month, area families can spend a Saturday at Kennekuk County Park eating home-grown pork and having a spooky good time later in the evening.

The second annual Court Appointed Special Advocates’ Family Fun Hog Roast takes place at Kennekuk’s Hickory Hollow Oct. 24, which coincides with the park’s Haunted Happenings event.

The evening’s CASA event will be complete with children’s activities that include a pumpkin decorating art contest, face painting and hair coloring, dessert walk, duck pond and ring toss.

Musical entertainment will be provided by Doc Ashton and the Root Canals.

Local CASA volunteers work on behalf of Vermilion County kids who are wards of the court because they’ve been taken out of their homes due to allegations of abuse or neglect.

The kids in the foster system often have needs the court or their foster families don’t know about or understand, and the advocates step in to make sure they receive proper care.

At the moment, some 350 children are in the foster system, and ideally, each one should have his or her own advocate according to Heather Fox, executive director of CASA Vermilion County. Currently, CASA serves about 60 of those children — less than 20 percent — with 29 advocates.

In addition to raising money this month, the organization would like to increase its roster of volunteers with a volunteer training session that begins Oct. 14.

The number of children who are wards of the court has grown. A year ago, the number of cases was 300 compared with today’s 350.

“It’s hard to know why,” Fox said. “Probably the economy is a major factor in this.”

Advocates get to choose which cases they’ll work on and can choose to work with one child at a time or one entire sibling group.

If Fox had her way, she’d have 150 to 170 volunteers at CASA.

“Every kid in the foster system needs someone to stand up for them. It breaks my heart when we have to close a case that never had an advocate for it,” she said.

Advocates often make life-changing differences for children. Sometimes it involves children being able to stay with relatives versus an outside foster parent. Sometimes medical needs are addressed that were forgotten or unknown. One issue was solved recently when the foster family learned to help their asthmatic child use a nebulizer.

Another recent case involved a child with reactive attachment disorder, which is a disorder found in children who’ve been abused or neglected. The disorder makes them unable to form relationships with primary care providers.

The diagnosis had been lost in court files and the advocate was able to see that the child obtained proper counseling.

Fundraising

Fox would like to raise $8,000 with the hog roast. Last year, the event brought in $6,500. For supporting a good cause, patrons will be well-rewarded.

“If they knew how good the food was, they’d come,” Fox said.

CASA board member Tom Fahey raises the hogs for the roast. The meal also will include coleslaw, cookies, chips and drinks and the cost of the meal includes all you can eat.

CASA relies mostly on fundraising for its operating budget, which is projected to be $72,000. The budget is short by $14,000 at this point.

A court improvement grant for $17,854 from the Illinois Supreme Court is included in the budget and is being used to increase the number of male advocates.

Hopefully, Fox said, the hog roast will raise the bulk of the remaining money needed for this fiscal year, which ends next June 30, and begin money for the following year.

“This is a critical point for us to make sure we bring the money in. The support is out there. We just have to reach out to it,” she said.

Another fundraiser, CASAblanca, an evening gala, is scheduled for late March.

Alayne Anderson, the vice president of the CASA board, said it will be difficult to go home hungry the evening of Oct. 24.

“It’s probably the best barbeque I’d ever eaten in my life,” she said.

Last year, the barbeque was sold out.

The 2008 event featured about 200 patrons.

“We’re hoping there will be twice as many,” Anderson said.

She said several quarter hogs will be raffled off, as well as a hot air balloon ride.

“It’s so important for us to get our financial affairs in order. We have an operation that exits based on fundraising and grants. We do so very much good,” she said.

“With all the budgetary cuts in the government, there are really less people working with kids in this situation. We feel like our services are even more important than they were last year.”

COMING UP

The second annual Court Appointed Special Advocates Family Fun Hog Roast will be 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at Hickory Hollow in Kennekuk County Park. Tickets are available in advance at Bud’s Express Cellular, Bud’s Car Stereo & Cellular, Charlotte’s and the Law Office of Lietz & Hussman Rogers. Costs are $15 for patrons ages 12 and up and $20 at the door; $5 for kids 6-11 years old and free for kids 5 and under.

The next CASA training class begins Oct. 14 Classes will be 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday mornings at the Danville Township Building. Interested individuals may get specific information at http://www.casavermilion.org or by contacting the office at 446-5975. Advocates have to be at least 21 years old and pass a background check.

For information about Kennekuk County Park’s Haunted Happenings, visit http://www.vccd.org/HauntedHappenings.htm.