CASA Volunteer Advocate

A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained citizen (21 or older) who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of a child in court. Children helped by CASA volunteers include those for whom home placement is being determined in juvenile court. Most of the children are victims of abuse and neglect.

A CASA volunteer provides the judge with a carefully researched background of the child to help the Court make a sound decision about the child’s future. Each juvenile dependency case is as unique as the child involved. The CASA volunteer offers information to the court to aid in determining if it is in a child’s best interests to return home to his or her parents, to continue in foster care, or be freed for permanent adoption. The CASA volunteer makes a recommendation on placement to the judge, and follows through on the case until it is permanently resolved.