FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT CASA PROGRAM INC

All children have the right to a home with loving parents to care for them. Some children are victims of abuse and violence. Some children have been neglected or abandoned. All of these children are frightened and confused. What happens to these children? First, a majority of these children are taken from their homes and then placed with strangers in foster care. These children then become part of a legal system where a judge decides their future. Should they remain in foster care? Should they be reunited with their parents, the very people who have hurt them? Should they be taken from their family permanently and given the chance to be adopted by a new family? And, how will the judge know what is best for this child? This is the role of a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).

The National CASA Association began in 1977 when Judge David Soukup from Seattle realized there was not adequate time to investigate and decide on the fate of a child. He asked himself who would be able to give him a straight factual picture of the circumstances in this child’s life? He gathered a group of community volunteers to look into each case and give him a fact based report on the child and their family.