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CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate
CASA for Children trains and supports community volunteers to advocate for comprehensive services for abused and neglected children in Cherokee County. We do this to promote healing and to break the cycle of abuse for future generations. As a community partner in the child welfare system, a CASA volunteer increases a child's access to services, promotes safety, and advocates for timely permanence for foster youth involved in juvenile court child protection proceedings. We believe that all children deserve the chance to grow up in the embrace of a safe, permanent and loving family.
CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over foster youth to make sure they don't get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes. The CASA volunteer attends court proceedings and makes independent recommendations to the judge about what is in the child's best interests -- bringing a sense of urgency to the child's needs.Volunteers stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe and permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence in their lives throughout their journey in foster care.
Independent research has demonstrated that children with a CASA volunteer are substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care and less likely to reenter foster care. Read more evidence of effectiveness.
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