C.A.S.A. or Court Appointed Special Advocates

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA volunteers are everyday people appointed by a judge to speak up for abused and neglected children in court.

CASA History  :   In 1977, Seattle Superior Court Judge, David Soukup, was concerned about making decisions on behalf of abused and neglected children without enough information.  He had the idea of appointing community volunteers to speak up for the best interests of these children in court.  He made a request for volunteers—Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA®).  Fifty citizens responded, and that was the start of the CASA movement.

Today, there are nearly 97,000 advocates serving in 948 programs in 49 states and Washington D.C. In 2019, CASA Volunteers advocated for 276,809 children and donated 5.4 million hours. CASA programs across the country are known by several different names including Guardian ad Litem (GAL), Child Advocates and Voices for Children.

Since the inception of CASA advocacy, volunteers have helped millions of children find safe, permanent homes.