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A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) is a trained community volunteer who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of an abused or neglected child in court. Over the past twenty-five years, tens of thousands of CASA/GAL volunteers have served hundreds of thousands of abused and neglected children. Judge David Soukup’s initial notion that volunteers are in the best position to most effectively and efficiently provide the advocacy so critical for our children in need has come to fruition. The volunteer nature of our work is the very foundation on which the CASA program is built and is certainly one of the greatest strengths of our national network. Volunteers are in fact the heart of what we do for children.
Why volunteers? By the very nature of their “volunteerism”, they empower themselves through their commitment of time and energy. Volunteers generally work on only one or two cases at a time and their focus gives them the ability to see and do more on behalf of the child. They stay with the case from beginning to end and commit to the program for at least one year.
Why volunteers? By the very nature of their “volunteerism”, they empower themselves through their commitment of time and energy. Volunteers generally work on only one or two cases at a time and their focus gives them the ability to see and do more on behalf of the child. They stay with the case from beginning to end and commit to the program for at least one year.
“I joined CASA because it is my way of ‘paying it forward.’ We are the voice of the kids that didn’t ask or want to be in this situation. We state the facts of the case and the needs and wants of the kids.” Advocate Teresa Moyer, 2016.
