Volunteer Court Advocate for Children

CASA of the Tennessee Heartland is an organization that recruits,trains and supervises volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes and placed into foster care. A CASA volunteer is trained on the court and child welfare systems, child abuse and neglect, state and federal laws, and the roles and responsibilities of a CASA volunteer.

One volunteer is paired with one child or one case (if there are multiple children in the family) and remains their advocate from the time they enter into foster care until they are placed in a safe and permanent home. CASA volunteers are often referred to as the eyes and ears of the Juvenile Judge. They are in charge of providing a clear picture of the child’s situation in the form of a report along with recommendations to the court that will serve only the best interest of the child. Volunteers are able to write the report based on the information they gather when visiting the child, the foster home, the child’s school, the parents, and by having access to all records pertaining to the child and the situation that brought the child into DCS custody.