Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of Hampden County

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CASA volunteers are matched up to work one-on-one with a child whose case is being overseen by the Hampden Juvenile Court (Springfield or Holyoke). You get to know the child and their situation: their family, school, and others that are involved in their care. As a Court Appointed Special Advocate you research the child's history and talk to people about how the child is doing. You then make a report to the Court, recommending what you believe is in the child's best interest. The CASA volunteer is essentially the "eyes and ears of the judge".

CASA volunteers can be instrumental in assuring that a child or family receives services that the Court has ordered - things like psychological counseling or special education testing. Most of the children who are referred to the program have parents that are not able to be effective advocates for them. The CASA volunteer advocates for the child to prevent them from "falling between the cracks". The CASA's involvement typically lasts about a year, or until the child is placed in a safe and permanent home.

CASA volunteers are prepared through the completion of a training process. Once you complete the training and are assigned a case, the hours are flexible and determined by you, the child, and the family you work with; many of our volunteers have full time jobs.

Below is the web address to our CASA Q&A. Here you can learn more about what it means to be a CASA volunteer. In that link, step 11 will say "Ready to apply?". From there, you will need to fill out the attached application and send it back vial mail, email, or fax to the contact on the application. From there, you will be contacted for an interview and then need to complete a required training course. Thank you!

http://chd.org/child-adolescent-and-family-services/child-welfare-programs/court-appointed-special-advocate/faqs-volunteering/