Concerned over making decisions about abused and neglected children's lives without sufficient information, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court. This Seattle program was so successful that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. CASA volunteers are ordinary people who care about kids.
CASA volunteers come from all backgrounds.
Many work full time. Some are students or retired people. Most CASA volunteers work on one case at a time. No legal expertise is required. In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.