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Volunteer

Volunteer Application

 Change a Child’s Story:

Serving as a CASA allows you to have a profound effect on a child’s life, as you speak on behalf of the child and their best interests. It can also change YOUR life as much as it can change a child’s life.

CASA advocates are part of a diverse and inclusive volunteer group and share a commitment to improving children’s lives, have a willingness to learn, and possess an open mind towards life experiences different from their own.

What is the role of a CASA volunteer:

A CASA volunteer (advocate) provides a judge with carefully researched background details about the child to help the court make a sound decision about that child’s future. Each home placement case is as unique as the child involved. The CASA volunteer must consider the child’s best interests in their recommendations for permanency–such as reunification with parents, kinship guardianship, or adoption. The CASA volunteer makes a recommendation regarding placement to the judge, and will stay with the case until it is permanently resolved.

STEPS TO VOLUNTEER

  • Complete a Volunteer Application
  • A Volunteer Advocate Coordinator will contact you to arrange an interview.
  • Agree to serve as a CASA for a minimum of 1 year
  • Once invited to become a CASA, complete an approximately 30-hour self-paced training to learn about the history and structure of the CASA program, proceedings, and expectations of providing recommendations to the Court
  • Complete required background checks
  • Be sworn in by the County Circuit Court
  • You are now a CASA—Court Appointed Special Advocate, and you will become the voice for a child in need.

EXPECTATIONS OF A CASA ADVOCATE

  • Attend the required pre-service training
  • Gather information from the child’s family, teachers, doctors, caregivers, and anyone else involved in the child’s life.
  • Write a Court Report for every scheduled hearing and permanency planning review
  • Spend 5-10 hours per month dedicated to the child’s case
  • Visit with the child a minimum of once per month
  • Make fact-based recommendations to the Court that are in the best interest of the child 
Volunteer Application