Meet Anita Traxler, the Program Coordinator for CASA of Northeast Louisiana. As the Coordinator for the CASA program, Anita provides coaching and consultation to CASA Advocate Supervisors and their volunteers as it relates to case management, monitor caseload assignments, conduct monthly case reviews of all CASA cases for compliance and advocacy needs, facilitate collaboration between DCFS and other key stakeholders, assist in the hiring/onboarding of new CASA staff, and assist the CASA Program Director with daily programmatic operations.
Anita is a 1992 graduate of Rayville High School and 1997 graduate of Northeast Louisiana University (NLU), currently known as University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from NLU. Anita currently lives in Rayville, LA with her husband, Michael, of thirty-one years. Together, they have an adult daughter, Kristen.
When asked how her role brings hopes to families in our community, Anita stated "My role works indirectly with the children and families that are served by CASA. The children that CASA serves are in the custody or supervision of DCFS and the families are involved in the court system. The coaching and consultation that I provide to Advocate Supervisors and CASA volunteers assists in achieving permanency for children in a timely manner. I use my knowledge of resources to help identify services that volunteers can utilize to fulfill a child’s needs. I began working with families in 1998 which led me to child protection work in the field of child welfare in 2002. I began this specific work to fulfill my desire to help protect the most vulnerable population, which are children. Through the years, I worked in child welfare in various roles. This background afforded me the knowledge and experience to further the protection of children by helping make sure that each child served by CASA has a safe and permanent home. I also do this work because I enjoy being able to help CASA staff, CASA volunteers and others by providing support and consultation as needed to make their jobs easier. My hope is that the information and guidance that I give to Advocate Supervisors and volunteers will help reunify families so that the family unit can be maintained or help a child achieve an alternate permanency goal of guardianship or adoption if that is deemed in the child’s best interest. I hope to lend perspective in the hard times so that there is clarity in the recommendations that are needed for the children served by CASA."
In her spare time, Anita enjoys searching for home décor and collectibles that are classified as vintage, antique or boho. Most of these items are used as inventory to stock her flea market booths, but she admits that some items are kept for her personal use. She loves the thrill of hunting for items and bringing them in to display for other customers to enjoy.
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