We’re driven by our mission to protect the rights and desires of all of our Humboldt County foster children to enable a safe future for them. We work with other CASA programs to recruit, train and supervise Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers to advocate for children involved in the child welfare system and improve their well-being.
The History of CASA
In 1977, Seattle Superior Court Judge David Soukup was concerned that he did not always have sufficient information for making decisions impacting the lives of abused and neglected children involved in cases in his court.
He understood that social workers often had overwhelming caseloads and did not have the time to acquire detailed information about these children. Moreover, others involved with the cases of these children, such as attorneys and medical practitioners, generally only focused on their areas of expertise.
Judge Soukup worried he was making long-term decisions without the benefit of complete information. He wanted something more, so he launched the idea of training volunteers from the community who would serve as independent and neutral child advocates. He believed that if the sole focus of these volunteers was to protect the best interests of the child, these court appointed special advocates could be the “eyes and ears of the court” and the voice of the child.
Today, this is the model used by courts throughout the United States. The Nevada CASA Association is one of 48 state CASA offices.
Why We Do It
Sources: DCFS 2019 Annual Services Progress Report, National CASA Association, Adoption Network, Fostering Court Improvement Website
- The child welfare system is in a state of crisis, due in part to the devastating opioid epidemic.
- 4,608 documented abused and neglected children in Nevada.
- More than 4,000 children are in Nevada’s foster care system on any given day.
- Children spend an average of 13.8 months in care.
- 7 local CASA programs currently serve children in 8 of the 17 Nevada counties.
- 708 CASA volunteers advocates speak up for 1,274 of Nevada’s abused and neglected children.
- 3,500 of Nevada’s abused and neglected children still need a CASA advocate.
- NRS 432B.500 mandates a GAL/CASA for each abused and neglected child but there is no state funding to support this mandate – Nevada is one of only six states in the nation that receives no state funding to support its mandate to serve such children.
Children with Court Appointed Special Advocates have better odds of succeeding. A child with a CASA volunteer:
- Will spend 4 to 6 months less time in foster care
- Will receive more needed services such as counseling and tutoring
- Is more likely to stay in school and go on to graduate
- Is half as likely to re-enter the foster care system
- Is more likely to find a safe, loving, and permanent home