What is CASA?

Some are victims of violence, pyschological torment or sexual abuse. Others have been neglected or even abandoned by their own parents. Most of them are frightened and confused. Often these children also become victims of this country’s overburdened child welfare system–a complex legal network of lawyers, social workers and judges who frequently are too overburdened to give thorough, detailed attention to each child who comes before them.

The consequences can be severe.

A nine-year-old boy is discovered in a Kentucky foster home so malnourished he weighs only 17 pounds. A child dies in a state-licensed “temporary care” shelter, where seven children had been sharing one bedroom for more than a year. An 18-year old boy moves out of his seventh New York foster home, unable to read, write or care for himself as an adult.

These are just three of thousands of children who will never know what it is like to have a permanent home–with their formative years “lost” in temporary care while the court decides their fate.

The Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect

The annual cost of child abuse and neglect to taxpayers is over $24 billion, but the cost in human potential is even greater, reaching almost $70 billion in indirect costs. Studies show there is a very good chance many of the children will end up juvenile delinquents or adult criminals.

Enter the CASA concept. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program was created in 1977 to ensure that the abuse and neglect that these children originally suffered at home doesn’t continue as abuse and neglect at the hands of the system.

A CASA volunteer is a trained community volunteer appointed by a juvenile or family court judge to speak for the best interest of children who are brought before the court. The majority of a CASA volunteer’s assignments are home placement cases where an abused and neglected child has been removed for protection from the care of his or her parents.

Who Can Be a CASA Volunteer?

CASA volunteers are ordinary citizen. No special or legal background is required. Volunteers are screened closely for objectivity, competence and commitment.

CASA Volunteer Training

CASA volunteers undergo a thorough training course conducted by the local CASA program. Training requirements vary from program to program, but an average course is approximately 30 hours. Volunteers learn about courtroom procedure from the principals in the system – from judges, lawyers, social workers, court personnel and others. CASA volunteers also learn effective advocacy techniques for children, and are educated about specific topics ranging from child sexual abuse to early childhood development and adolescent behavior

Three Roles of the Volunteer

As a child advocate, the CASA volunteer has three main responsibilities:

• serving as a fact-finder for the judge by thoroughly researching the background of each assigned case.
• speaking for the child in the courtroom; representing the child’s best interests.
• acting as a “watchdog” for the child during the life of the case ensuring that it is brought to a swift and appropriate conclusion.

Based on a Child’s Rights

The CASA concept is based on the belief that every child has the right to a safe, permanent home. In court jurisdictions that have adopted the program, the juvenile or family court judge turns to a specially trained pool of CASA volunteers each time a case involving a child is received. The judge appoints a volunteer to the child’s case who becomes an official part of the judicial proceedings, working alongside attorneys and social workers as appointed officers of the court. Unlike attorneys and social workers, however, the CASA volunteer speaks exclusively for the child’s best interests.

By handling only one or two cases at a time (compared to a social agency caseworker’s average load of 60-90), the CASA volunteer has the time to explore thoroughly the history of each assigned case. The volunteer talks with the child, parents and family members, neighbors, school officials, doctors and others involved in the child’s background who might have facts about the case. The volunteer reviews all records and documents pertaining to the child and then submits a formal report to the court recommending placement: should the child stay with his or her parents, be placed in foster care, or be freed for permanent adoption. If the court leaves the child in temporary care, the CASA volunteer provides continuity by staging with a case until it is permanently resolved.

Since its creation in 1977, CASA has had a dramatic impact on the nation’s system.  There are now over 1,015 CASA programs across the country including Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  New Programs start up at a rate of two per month.  Research shows these programs utilize over 70,900 volunteers who advocate for the best interests of America’s abused and neglected children.  As a result of their work, these children have a better chance of finding a safe, permanent home and hope for the future.  In 2010, volunteers helped over 240,000 children.

Local CASA programs vary in size and scope from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.  Programs often differ from one another with varying operating methods and sources of funding.  In all states, the CASA volunteer is a monitor, providing research and background, and following through on each case to see that the court’s recommendations are carried out.  In some states, the CASA volunteer is a full party to court proceedings to the extent that he or she may call witnesses and solicit testimony through the services of an attorney.