Court Appointed Special Advocates of Pima County

Description

CASA of Pima County is affiliated with CASA of Arizona and the National CASA Association which is a network of almost 1,000 programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom and other settings.

In 1977, a Seattle juvenile court judge concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. Since that first program network has grown to about 1,000 CASA programs all who are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states.

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 care. Last year, more than 86,900 CASA volunteers helped 280,300 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes. CASA volunteers are everyday citizens who have undergone screening and training with their local CASA program.