About CASA

CASA began in 1977 when Judge David Soukup of Seattle, Washington, conceived of the idea of trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. Judge Soukup felt he did not have sufficient information to make informed decisions in cases involving children. From his vision, CASA has spread across the country. In 1990, the US Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA programs with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.

Every day children in Nevada are victimized through abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Often these children are removed from their home and placed into our juvenile court system. Many spend years moving from one placement to another, without a permanent home or family.  They may be frightened and confused. In many cases these children become victims a second time in an overburdened child welfare system that cannot pay close attention to each child’s needs. This is where CASA volunteers step in to stand by the child in court and in life, listening to their fears as well as their dreams, and giving them hope and a voice.

Local CASA programs throughout the United States now serve over 240,000 abused and neglected children through more than 900 programs nationwide. National CASA has grown to more than 59,000 volunteers. However, there are over 500,000 children currently living in foster care. This is far short of the National CASA goal to provide a CASA volunteer for every abused and neglected child in the court system. More advocates are needed to be a child’s voice in court to ensure each child can live in a safe, permanent, loving home where they can thrive.

Did you know…

One in four foster youth who age out of the system will be incarcerated within the first 2 years after they leave the system; over 20% will become homeless at some time after age 18.

In 2006, a total of 799,000 children were served by the foster care system. Approximately 510,000 children were in care at point in time. That year, 303,000 children entered the system, 209,000 exited and 51,000 children were adopted.

Children with a CASA volunteer are substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care.

Statistics from National CASA Association