How Do CASA Volunteers Help Children?

CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes. For children who’ve been abused or neglected, CASA means having a home instead of feeling lost, and being a priority instead of feeling invisible.

 

Who Are CASA Volunteers?

CASA volunteers are are everyday citizens who care about children and want to make a difference in the life of a child. As a CASA volunteer, you will be thoroughly trained and well supported by professional staff to help you through each case.

 

Who Are the Children CASA Volunteers Help?

Judges appoint CASA volunteers to represent the best interests of children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. Volunteers stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence in their lives.

 

According to National CASA, children with CASA volunteers are more likely to receive therapy, health care and education and do better in school, and less likely to be bounced from one place to another or get stuck in long-term foster care.

 

How Did the CASA Movement Begin?

In 1977, a Seattle juvenile court judge concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. From that first program has grown a network of more than 955 CASA and guardian ad litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states.