Whatever their age, children who have experienced abuse or neglect
face a frightening, profound unknown. New
schools. We make sure they don’t face it alone. To make decisions that
affect the rest of a child’s life, judges need to know the child. Our highly trained court appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteers help them do that by getting to know the child at the heart of each case and gath
ering details to help the judge determine if and when it is safe for the child to return home. Each year, nearly 700,000 children in the United States experience
abuse or neglect, ushering them into the dependency court and foster
care systems. A child in foster care will spend an average of three years
in the system, move three times, and attend nine different schools. All
this chaos and inconsistency has long-term effects. Children and youth
who have spent time in foster care are more likely to face incarceration,
homelessness, and unemployment. They are less likely to graduate high
school and more likely to be trafficked. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for children’s best interests. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is in a safe, permanent home. We serve children from birth through the age defined by state statute as the limit to youth remaining in care. Volunteers work with legal and child welfare professionals, educators and service providers to ensure that judges have all the information they need to make the most well-informed decisions for each child. Our best-interest advocacy is driven by the guiding principle that children grow and develop best with their family of origin, if that can be safely achieved. Most of the children we work with are in foster care, but some are with their family of origin. And, most children who leave foster care do so to return to their family. Learn more:
https://nationalcasagal.org/
https://www.ohiocasa.org/
