History of CASA

National:

In 1976 more than one million children in the United States were in foster care, often unable to be reunited with their families or adopted by new ones. Foster care, designed to be temporary shelter, became a de facto permanent placement for many of these children. Contributing to this situation, in part, was the fact that judges were not always provided with sufficient information to determine the best placement for a child’s long-term welfare.

David W. Soukup, presiding Judge of King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington, became greatly concerned about making decisions that had significant impact on dependent children’s futures. He began to consider ways to make sure the child’s best interests were represented in court. Traditionally, the child’s advocate in court had been the guardian ad litem (GAL), an attorney appointed by the court. Few of these attorneys, however, had the time or training to conduct the kind of comprehensive review that would allow the court to make informed decisions about appropriately placing a child.

Judge Soukup decided to recruit and train volunteers from the community to serve as children’s long-term GALs. His concept became an active program in Seattle in 1977, and in its first year the program provided 110 trained volunteers for 498 children in 376 dependency cases.

In the fall of 1977, the Children in Placement Committee of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) developed guidelines to help the juvenile justice system protect the child’s right to a safe, permanent family. When the Seattle program came to the committee’s attention, committee members voted to incorporate Soukup’s volunteer concept as one of its models.

In 1978, a nationwide study was conducted for OJJDP to evaluate volunteer child advocate programs in juvenile courts. Seattle’s program was rated one of the country’s most successful and innovative volunteer child advocate programs.

As reports of Seattle’s success spread, programs sprang up around the country. Currently, over 900 child advocate programs (CASA, GAL, Voices for Children and others) operate in the 50 States, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with 52,000 volunteers. The CASA concept has received wide recognition since its inception, including endorsement by the American Bar Association in 1989 and by Congress in the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-647). The Act calls for expanded use of CASA to the effect that “a court appointed special advocate shall be available to every victim of child abuse or neglect in the United States that needs such an advocate” (Bilchik, “OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin,” March 1997).

Kansas:

The first Kansas CASA project was established in Sedgwick County, the 18th judicial district, in 1981. The number of CASA programs in Kansas has grown to 23, (there are 31 judicial districts in the State of Kansas).

Since CASA is not an agency of the State of Kansas, CASA programs are privately funded, generally with the aid of grant monies, private donations, and in-kind contributions. A small percentage of CASA programs also receive some public funding.

To provide a network of assistance to member programs, the Kansas CASA Association (KCA), meets once a month to exchange ideas for program improvement, discuss legislation, and provide technical assistance.

9th Judicial District:

Harvey and McPherson Counties make up the 9th Judicial District in the State of Kansas. CASA: A Voice for Children, Inc. assigned its first case in 1990 in Harvey County. By 1993, the program had expanded into McPherson County. CASA of Harvey and McPherson Counties is currently housed in the Harvey County Courthouse. Future plans for the organization include a satellite office located in McPherson. One Board of Directors serves Harvey and McPherson Counties. In addition, CASA of the 9th Judicial District is an active member of both the Kansas and the National CASA Associations.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained adult 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 and are considered “children in need of care.”

A CASA volunteer provides a judge with carefully researched background of the child to help the court make a sound decision about that child’s future. Each home placement case is as unique as the child involved. The CASA volunteer must determine if it is in a child’s best interest to stay with his or her parents or guardians, be placed in a foster home, 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.

To prepare a recommendation, the CASA volunteer talks with the child, parents, family members, social workers, school officials, health providers and other who are knowledgeable about the child’s history. The CASA volunteer also reviews all records pertaining to the child – school, medical and case worker reports; and other documents.

Social workers generally are employed by state governments. They sometimes work on as many as 60 cases at a time and are frequently unable to conduct a comprehensive investigation of each. The CASA volunteer has more time and a smaller caseload (an average of 1-2 cases at a time). The CASA volunteer does not replace a social worker on a case; he or she is an independent appointee of the court. The CASA volunteer can thoroughly examine a child’s case, has knowledge of community resources, and can make a recommendation to the court independent of state agency restrictions.

The CASA volunteer does not provide legal representation. That is the role of the attorney. However, the CASA volunteer does provide crucial background information that assists attorneys in presenting their cases. It is important to remember that CASA volunteers do not represent a child’s wishes in court. Rather, they tell the court what the child’s wishes are, and then they exercise their own independent judgement to determine whether those wishes are actually in the best interest of the child.

CASA volunteers come from all walks of life, with a variety of educational and ethnic backgrounds. There are more than 52,000 CASA volunteers nationally. Local programs vary in number of volunteers they utilize. Aside from their CASA volunteer responsibility, 50 percent are employed in regular full-time jobs; the majority tend to be professionals. About two-thirds of the volunteers in Harvey and McPherson Counties are women; about one-third are men.

CASA volunteers offer children trust and advocacy during complex legal proceedings. They explain to the child the events that are happening, the reasons they all are in court, and the roles the judge, lawyers, and social workers play. CASA volunteers also encourage the child to express his or her own opinions and hopes.

The number varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but an average caseload is one to two; no more than three.

Yes. Juvenile and family court judges implement the CASA program in their courtrooms and appoint volunteers. CASA has been endorsed by the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice.

CASA is a priority project of the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The office encourages the establishment of new CASA programs, assists established CASA programs, and provides partial funding for the National CASA Association.

There are now 900 CASA programs across the country including Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Research suggests that children who have been assigned CASA volunteers tend to spend less time in court and less time within the foster care system than those who do not have CASA representation. Judges have observer that CASA children also have better chances of finding permanent homes than non-CASA children.

Each case is different. A CASA volunteer usually spends about 10 hours doing research and conducting interviews when a case is first assigned. More complicated cases take longer. Once initiated into the system, volunteers work about 4-10 hours a month.

The volunteer continues until the case is permanently resolved. One of the primary benefits of the CASA program is that, unlike other court principals who often rotate cases, the CASA volunteer is a consistent figure in the proceedings, and provides continuity for a child.

There are other pro bono child advocacy organizations, but CASA is the only national program using carefully screened and trained community volunteers who are appointed by the court to represent a child’s best interests.

Children who are victims of abuse and neglect who have become wards of the court are assigned CASA volunteers.

The National CASA Association is a non-profit organization that provides training, technical assistance, research, media and public awareness services to members. NCASA works with state and local CASA and volunteer guardian ad litem programs to promote and support quality volunteer advocacy to help assure each child a safe, permanent, nurturing home.

At the local level, the CASA program is funded through a combination of grants, donations, in-kind support, and an annual fund-raiser.