Our Organization
We are part of a movement that includes 77,000 court-appointed volunteers who serve more than 250,000 of America’s most vulnerable children.
Our Goal
To serve every child. Currently, we serve about twenty percent of all children in state care in our district. That means there are eighty percent who are facing the court without an advocate.
What We Do
Along with a team of other service providers, we give judges detailed information they need to act in a child’s best interest. We get to know each child, and we talk to parents and foster parents, family members, teachers, therapists, and others to gather the details.
How It All Began
In 1977, a Seattle judge spent sleepless nights wondering whether he had made the right decisions for the children in his courtroom. He realized community volunteers could be trained to speak up for the best interests of each child, and the first program was started in King County, Washington
We Improve Lives
A safe, permanent home faster. Analysis of data shows that a child with a volunteer leaves the system an average of two-and-a-half months earlier than a child without an advocate and is half as likely to re-enter care. This is important not only for the well- being of a child moving to a permanent placement solution, but also to the heavily burdened and expensive social services system.
We save taxpayer dollars. By making sure children don’t languish in the system, we save $540 million a year on foster care alone.
We have positive, long-term effects on society. When children are supported with volunteer advocates as they mature and become young adults, statistics show they are more likely to complete high school and even pursue more education toward a career afterwards. In addition, analysis of the data shows that advocacy reduces the likelihood these children will face incarceration, homelessness, or unemployment—outcomes faced by many former foster youth.
National Casa Volunteers
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