Court Appointed Special Advocates make everyday extraordinary.

 

CASA Volunteers are everyday people from the community that want to give back in a big way.  CASA Volunteers are trained and supported by CASA staff to " speak up"  for a child or family of children that have come into the court system due to abuse or neglect by their parent or guardian.  CASA Volunteers visit with their assigned CASA child monthly to ensure their needs are being met in their foster home, monitor the parent's progress in attempting to re-gain custody of their child, and supplies any information gathered to the Judge that presides over the case.  CASA volunteers work to ensure that their CASA child's voice is heard throughout the case and that all decisions being made on their behalf are what's in their best interest.  A CASA volunteer's ultimate goal is to ensure that their CASA child is able to thrive in a safe, permanent home.     

 

 

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

The beginning of the CASA movement.

 

In 1977, a Seattle juvenile court judge, concerned about making drastic decisions that would affect children's lives without having sufficient information necessary, conceived the idea of CASA.  The idea was to create an opportunity for concerned citizens to volunteer by speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. The CASA model was a cost effective idea that would bridge the inefficiencies in an already overburdened foster-care system.  The first CASA program started in Seattle, WA in 1978.  From that first program has grown a network of nearly 1,000 CASA programs around the country that are recruiting, training and supporting CASA volunteers. 

CASA of Lafourche became an independently operated, 501(c)(3) non-profit CASA program in June 2007.  We work specifically on foster care cases in the Louisiana 17th Judicial District Court and Thibodaux City Court.  Through the generosity of our Volunteers, Funders, Board of Directors and Staff, our program has had the opportunity to advocate for over 300 children in our community who have been abused or neglected. We exist because of the volunteers who have stepped up to fulfill the CASA role; their impact on the lives of families in our community isn't unnoticed.  Our volunteers are as amazing and unique as the children that they work with. The basis of the CASA volunteer is to serve 4 primary functions in the child's foster care case:

 
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Investigate.

Examine the Facts.

The CASA volunteer carries out an independent investigation of the family situation, including relevant history, home environment, relationship dynamics, and needs of the child.

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Advocate.

Publicly Recommend.

The CASA volunteer attends the child's court hearings to speak up for the child and to make recommendations to the Judge regarding the decision that would be in the child's best interest.

 
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Facilitate.

Make the case easier.

The CASA volunteer looks for resources and services that are available in the community to help the child and parents.  The CASA volunteer collaborates and communicates with other parties in the case to create a situation that benefits the child.

Monitor.

Check case progress.

The CASA volunteer keeps track of the progress of the parents and the child to ensure that the Judge's orders are being followed.  The CASA reports this progress to the Judge at semi-annual court hearings and to the Child Protection Agency case manager.

Full time office staff.

 

At CASA of Lafourche, we believe our volunteers have a profound ability to create lasting change in our community.  Our volunteers come from all educational levels, demographic make-ups and life experiences.  It's important that our volunteers feel supported and enabled to carry out their duties as Court Appointed Special Advocates, no matter their background.  That's why we have a committed staff working to recruit, train and provide support and resources to each volunteer. The success of our volunteer program means that abused children throughout Lafourche Parish have a voice.