Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) is a public, non-profit charitable organization with
a mission to make a difference in our community by recruiting,
training, and supporting volunteers to serve as advocates for children
whose families have been cited for abuse and neglect by the Augusta
County, Staunton, Waynesboro, Lexington, Rockbridge County, Covington
and Alleghany County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.
Founded in 1994, CASA
for Children is part of an association of CASA organizations
nationwide. The Court Appointed Special Advocate program was first
established in 1977 by a
Seattle judge
who was concerned about making decisions on behalf of abused and
neglected children without sufficient information to support his
decisions. Out of his concern, Judge Soukup conceived of the idea to use
trained advocates to speak for the children in court. The
Seattle program
was such a success that judges throughout the country have requested
CASA organizations for their own jurisdictions. Today, there are more
than 1000 CASA programs nationwide.
Although
CASA volunteers do not get involved in proving or disproving abuse
charges, their written reports to the presiding juvenile court judge
provide in-depth review of each child's family circumstances. Their
reports are expected to be independent, objective, fact-based, and
thorough. The ultimate goal is the ensure that children are placed in a
safe and permanent homes.
Since our incorporation in
July 1994, 211 dedicated CASA
Volunteers have advocated for 570 abused and neglected children in
our community. In our last fiscal year,
July 2010 – June 2011, 54 Volunteer Advocates represented 100 children on 55 cases. Our volunteers traveled 14,191 miles and logged 1,550 hours, an in-kind donation valued at $34,146.50
(according to the Department of Criminal Justice Services volunteer labor rate
of $22.03/hour).