CASA: Make a Lifelong Difference in a Child’s Life

You can make a lifelong difference in an abused and neglected child’s life by becoming the child’s voice in the court system as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).  Pamela Butler, a former CASA recipient who is now a college student, summed up CASA’s role nicely:

“When you’re young, no one listens to you.  To give a child a CASA is to give them a voice.  To give them a voice is to give them hope, and to give them hope is to give them the world.”

A brief history of CASA

CASA was conceived in 1976 by Seattle Superior Court Judge David Soukup after he became frustrated about having to rule on decisions involving abused and neglected children without having sufficient information.  Judge Soukup formulated a program, tapped into social resources, and raised funding to recruit and train a corp of community volunteers to act as the child’s voice by speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court proceedings.

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