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Volunteering

Court Appointed Special Advocates

Are you a mature, responsible adult? Can you talk to people who are having problems? Do you have time to commit? Do you care about children?

If your answers are "yes," then you may qualify to be a CASA volunteer.  CASA volunteers come from all walks of life. They have a variety of professional, educational, and ethnic backgrounds. No special background is required. Volunteers are selected on the basis of their objectivity, competence, and commitment. Once accepted, CASA volunteers are trained. It takes about 10 to 15 hours a month to be a CASA volunteer. It's hard work, but very gratifying.

CASA volunteers offer children trust, advocacy, and continuity during complex legal proceedings, but CASA volunteers do not become friends with the child or the other parties involved.

CASA volunteers are ordinary citizens. They work alongside attorneys and social workers as appointed officers of the court. When a CASA volunteer is appointed to a child's case, he or she is responsible for taking the time to find out as much as possible about the child. CASA volunteers search for information by reviewing records, interviewing parents, and talking to teachers, neighbors, and most importantly, the child. The volunteers then appear in court to recommend to the judge what's best for the child's future.

CASA provides trained volunteer advocates who serve as the voice of abused and neglected children in juvenile court.

CASA believes that all children have a right to a home with loving people who care for them. Each year in the United States, thousands of children are abused, neglected or abandoned by their families.

It is up to a judge to decide these children's futures: Should they remain with parents, be placed in foster care or with relatives, or should they be adopted?

In these cases, many children become victims a second time--lost in an overburdened child welfare system. Social agency caseworkers may have over forty cases at one time. Large caseloads make it impossible to give each child's case thorough attention. Often, a child remains in foster care for months or even years.

This is where CASA comes in.

CASA volunteers are Court-Appointed Special Advocates for children.  These trained community volunteers are appointed by the judgeto speak up for abused and neglected children in court.

The CASA volunteers' small caseload allows them to provide detailed information on a child's case and ensures that the child's best interest is represented in court.

Role of National CASA:

 

National CASA offers critical leadership and support to provide quality advocacy and lead the continued growth of the CASA network. Some of our specific activities:

 

Training & Curriculum: National CASA creates new,   research-based training opportunities, such as our new e-learning series on educational advocacy, and continuously improves our core volunteer training curriculum.

 

Technical Assistance: We offer extensive technical assistance to help programs serve more children more effectively.

 

Volunteer Recruitment and Public Awareness: We coordinate national campaigns to help recruit CASA volunteers and raise awareness about child abuse. In recent years, the CASA cause has been featured in various media, reaching more than 155 million individuals. Much of this awareness is the result of National CASA being selected as a CBS Care network charity.

 

Resource Development and Grants: National CASA provides pass-through funding to local and state CASA/GAL programs. Grant funding comes primarily from the Department of Justice but also from private corporations and foundations.

 

Visit their new website; www.CASAforChildren.org for  more information

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