A Kid's Guide to CASA
Is CASA something I can carry around in my pocket? Is CASA the Spanish word for house? Well, yes, "casa" does mean house in Spanish, but that's not the kind of CASA we are talking about.
CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate
A CASA volunteer is someone who tells the judge in court what he or she feels is best for a child. CASA volunteers do not get paid for doing this. They offer their time to help children who have been abused or neglected.
What's a judge got to do with me?
Sometimes families need help to make sure their home is a safe place for children. A social worker's job is to help these families, and sometimes a judge has to decide things like where the children should live and what kind of help the family needs. CASA volunteers help judges decide what is best for these children.
How does a CASA volunteer know what's best for me?
A CASA volunteer learns all about what is happening in a child's life by talking to people who know the child -- teachers, doctors, family members, foster parents, and counselors, for example. But most important of all, the CASA volunteer talks to and visits the child. Then the CASA volunteer tells the judge what he or she has learned and what the CASA volunteer thinks should happen.
A child talks about her CASA volunteer...
"My CASA volunteer would visit and phone me often to make sure I was okay. She made sure all my needs were being met. Like the times I struggled emotionally, she made sure I got counseling. Like the time I hated being placed in a group home, she went to bat for me and helped me get into a foster home. I had a lot of social workers and was placed in lots of homes, but my CASA volunteer never changed."
