Each year in the USA, more than 500,000 children are placed in some form of foster care and thrust into the court system. They have committed no crime, but are simply child victims who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. It is then up to the judge to decide their futures. The judge must consider the following: did the conditions at home warrant removal? Is the home now safe enough to allow the child’s return or should that child be permanently placed in another home?

In the past judges have often had to base these decisions on incomplete information.

Today, more than 50,000 people are speaking up for these children as volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Guardians Ad Litem (GAL)

CASA/GAL volunteers currently advocate for children in over 900 programs in the USA, speaking for the best interests of approximately 229,000 children. Though it is an impressive statistic, that is only about one third of abused and neglected children in the court system.

CASA volunteers provide a fresh perspective to the juvenile court. Their presence on cases helps to ensure that children who were abused or neglected do not receive further abuse at the hands of over-burdened child welfare systems.