Court Appointed Special Advocate

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is an organization in the United States. CASA supports and promotes advocates for abused or neglected children which are appointed by courts of law. The purpose is to provide children with a safe and healthy living environment in permanent homes. The program is similar to, but in most states is not the same as a legal guardian (Guardians ad litem). According to National CASA, today there are more than 77,000 advocates. They serve in 933 state and local program offices nationwide. Because of these volunteers, 233,000 children have been assisted through CASA services.

Court Appointed Special Advocates
Motto	"A Powerful Voice in a Child's Life®”
Formation	1977
Type	Youth organization
Legal status	Non-profit organization
Purpose/focus	"The mission of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association, together with its state and local members, is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy so that every abused or neglected child can be safe, establish permanence and have the opportunity to thrive."
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington
Region served	United States
Chief Executive Officer	Michael Piraino

Training

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are in cities all over the United States. Advocates receive training on the laws of child abuse and neglect. They learn how to interview children and how to work with children with special needs. All advocates are trained to evaluate a family's situation. The typical training is about 30 hours spent in workshops and 10 hours spent in observing court cases and procedures. They also receive 12 hours of in-service training each year. Each CASA location has a volunteer coordinator. Together with a location's overseer (manager) they give help and advice to the advocates.