NOVEMBER’s Advocate of the Month is DOMINIQUE MARTINEZ!!
Dominique is a shining example of going above and beyond the call of duty. In her 9 months as a CASA she has consistently gone above what is required of her, visiting her children multiple times a month; in October Dominique saw her children seven times!
She is a great example of working together with all parties for the best interest of the children! She has maintained a good relationship with the parents in her case and reached out to their service providers for updates. The parents even invited her to observe their services and they send her updates about their progress. In addition, she continues to supervise parent-child visits on a regular basis. We once asked Dominique if she was okay supervising so many visits and giving up some of her Sunday/church time. Her response was, “It’s all about the children!” Dominique sees “more duties” as more opportunities to spend time with her kids.
Dominique’s court reports are always thorough and all of her case documentation is timely and well written. Anyone could read her documentation and get a clear picture of what happened in each exchange. She is not afraid to voice her concerns in court or meetings, even if parties are not in agreement.
In addition to all of that, Dominique is always looking for ways to learn more through in-service and finding resources to help. She is a strong advocate for CASA and it’s mission and recently started working on a way to share a musical spotlight on the SHSU campus to tell about CASA.
Dominique had to wait a few months to get her first case because her originally assigned case was continually postponed. Through all the delays, Dominique stayed dedicated to CASA and once she got her current case she hit the ground running (or more like flying)! You would never know this was her first case. She is an asset to CASA in so many ways, and a fantastic advocate for her kids!
