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Mission of Oklahoma CASA Association-
The mission of Oklahoma CASA Association is to assist in the development of and provide support for local CASA / GAL programs and to provide a unified, statewide voice for abused and neglected children through those programs.

History of CASA in Oklahoma-
CASA got its start in Oklahoma in 1984, when Judge Couch from Cleveland County began a CASA program in the closet of his office. Judge Couch saw a need with the deprived cases to turn their attention towards permanency and saw a CASA program as the answer. In 1997, the Oklahoma Legislature mandated that a CASA program should be available to all judicial districts in Oklahoma. [10 O.S. 7003-3.6 c (2)] There are now 25 CASA programs in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma CASA Association Inc. ("OCASAA") is a voluntary member organization that provides technical assistance, training, and networking opportunities to the local CASA programs.
At the end of 2004, there were 25 member programs serving 30 District Courts and 4 Tribal Courts. Through these local CASA programs, over 2,864 volunteers served 5,379 children during the year. Statewide, CASA volunteers provided over 80,590 hours of service through such activities as interviewing children, parents, educators, medical personnel, and therapists; sharing information with the Department of Human Services "Child Welfare case workers; and writing reports to the court or appearing at hearings. The average time a child spends in the system is 3.3 years. With a CASA assigned to their case, that time is reduced to 1.17 years.