CASA for Children of Bergen County

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children of Bergen County is an independent, nonprofit organization of professionals and trained volunteers who have been appointed by the NJ Family Court to advocate for children removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. CASA works to ensure that needed services and assistance are made available to these children while helping to move them toward safe and permanent homes.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers are everyday people who are appointed by judges to advocate for the best interest of abused and neglected children living in the foster care system. A CASA volunteer advocates for one child's case until he/she is placed into a safe, permanent and loving home.

Every year in New Jersey, approximately 9,000 abused and neglected children are removed from their homes and placed in the foster care system (including foster homes, residential treatment facilities, shelter, and hospitals). Bergen County is home to over 600 of these children. The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program ensures that these children -- victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological torment, or abandonment -- have a voice in the court proceedings that determine their fates. There are over 900 CASA programs throughout the United States. CASA for Children of Bergen County is affiliated with both National CASA and CASA of NJ.