A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained citizen appointed by a judge to represent a child victim in a case of abuse or neglect.

No. Our volunteers come from varied backgrounds.  The pre-service training is designed to give you all the necessary information and instruction to prepare you for the role.  All you need is the willingness to volunteer.

Training is a combination of 30 hours of class instruction - covering topics and case studies that will prepare you for real life situations; as well as 10 hours of court observation.

The CASA program is NOT a mentoring program.  However, similar to a mentor, a CASA volunteer advocate must establish a good rapport with the child(ren) and develop a relationship with the child through consistent visitation.  Beyond that, the CASA gathers information about the child(ren), submits fact-based recommendations in a report to the juvenile judge, and attends court hearings to advocate for the child(ren).

To prepare a recommendation, the CASA volunteer talks with the child, parents, family members, Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) case managers, school officials, health providers, and others who are knowledgeable about the child's history.  The CASA volunteer also reviews all records pertaining to the child - school, medical, case manager reports, and other related documents.

Each case is different.  A CASA spends between 10 and 15 hours per month for  research and conducting interviews.  More complicated cases can involve more time.

Our program requires a minimum of 18 months, but we our preference and ultimate goal is that a CASA will remain with a case until it is resolved and permanency is achieved.

As a nonprofit entity, we rely on individual donors from our community, foundations, corporations, fundraising events, and grants for ongoing support.

Research suggests that children who have been assigned a CASA volunteer are half as likely to re-enter foster care and are significantly less likely to spend time in long-term foster care.  A child with a CASA volunteer is also more likely to do better in school, have better conduct, and more likely to fin a permanent home.