From Charity Alpert, Executive Director
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Elmore County
CASA of Elmore County – Speaking up for abused and neglected children
Elmore County, AL – CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Elmore County is a nonprofit organization that recruits, screens, and trains community volunteers to advocate for children in foster care. There are 89 children currently in care in Elmore County. CASA volunteers are trained to advocate for the best interests of these children in the court room and in all areas of life, as needed.
The CASA program swore in their first two volunteers in Elmore County under Judge Patrick Pinkston. Mrs. Wanda McCullers and Mrs. Kathryn Bettich, both of Elmore County, completed their required CASA training and court observation.
To find out more about the program and how you can become a CASA volunteer, call us at 334-329-8584 or find us on Facebook at CASA of Elmore County.
What is CASA?
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association in the United States that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that has been provided by the state or local CASA office. They are appointed by a judge, and their role is to gather information and make recommendations in the best interest of the child, keeping the child’s personal wishes in mind.
According to the National CASA Association, there are more than 93,000 volunteers nationwide, serving in 49 states and the District of Columbia. North Dakota is the only state without a CASA program. Each year more than a quarter of a million children are assisted through CASA services.
History
In 1977, Seattle Superior Court Judge David Soukup was faced with making decisions on behalf of abused and neglected children with only the information provided by the state Child Protective Services. Soukup formulated the idea that volunteers could be dedicated to a case and speak for children’s best interests.Fifty volunteers responded to his idea, which started a movement to provide better representation for abused and neglected children throughout the United States. By 2007, the National CASA Association had served 2 million children nationwide.
Current situation
Since its founding, CASA programming has grown to cover 49 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Each state’s program is responsible for developing and funding a budget. Some state and local agencies receive government funding, while others do not. The National CASA agency relies on pass thru grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as well as partnerships with non-profit organizations, philanthropic corporations, and community action groups.
CASA are generally appointed at the first hearing for the welfare of a child. In some states, a child will be assigned a lawyer as guardian ad litem (GAL) to represent the child in court. The GAL can double as a CASA, and in some situations, a child will be assigned both a CASA and a GAL. There are over 400,000 children aged 0–21 in foster care in the US.
Training
CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that has been provided by the state or local CASA office. The training consists of a minimum of 30 hours classroom instruction, court observation, and continued training each year. CASA must also pass a criminal background check. Each state develops its own program, implementing the national training and program standards. There are no educational requirements that CASA volunteers must meet, other than completing the training.
