Court Appointed Special Advocate -CASA- Prince Georges County, Inc.

Ultimately, CASA's goal is to match a CASA volunteer with every child in need so that all children in foster care have a qualified, trained individual advocating for their best interest. Long-term outcomes include increasing the number of youth who graduate from high school; increasing the number of youth who enroll in and graduate from secondary education; increasing the percentage of youth who are employed at the time their case closes and eliminating homelessness among exiting foster youth who are served by CASA.

CASA will continue to diversify its funding streams and build collaborative partnerships with stakeholders and other community organizations in order to both sustain the organization and grow our capacity to serve more children.

CASA provides 37 hours of pre-service training and 12 hours of in-service training per year to our volunteers. This training, along with intensive screening and supervision by professional staff ensures that only the most appropriate advocates are assigned to work with the abused and neglected children on our caseload.

To grow, CASA will increase its volunteer recruitment efforts, employ best practices to screen volunteers through a rigorous interview and background check process and train 80 volunteers using National CASA Association and local best practices. CASA will also provide specialized in-service training to prepare volunteers to address the needs of high-risk populations of youth. Case Supervisors will continue to supervise no more than 30 volunteers to ensure high quality service and will focus efforts to increase volunteer satisfaction and retention.

CASA is a volunteer-based organization that partners with the Juvenile Court to improve the lives of abused and neglected children living in foster care. With a strong commitment to diversity, CASA trains and supervises volunteers from the community who advocate for the best interest of children, recognizing and respecting each child's individual needs. By providing a voice to children in the foster care system, it is our goal to promote the timely placement of the children we serve in safe, permanent homes.

Since 2001, CASA has served more than 500 children; has expanded to serve at least 30 new children every year; has established an 84% permanent case closure rate; and has successfully planned and financed a rapidly growing organization. CASA is recognized in Prince George's County as a leader in child welfare transformation and in addressing the particular needs of special populations such as older foster youth and LGBTQ foster youth. CASA is committed to systemic reform to improve the handling of child maltreatment cases and is taking a leadership role on the Prince George's County Model Court Steering Committee. CASA and DSS co- founded the Prince George's County LGBTQ Youth Task Force. CASA is also a founding member of the Homeless Services Workgroup which works to reduce homelessness among former foster youth. Staff sit on a number of judicial committees including the Prince George's County CINA working group and the Child Welfare Permanency Planning. CASA received the 2015 Governor's Service Award for our Volunteer Program and 2016 Civic Leadership Award from the Community Foundation for Prince George's County. The organization's Executive Director serves on the Inclusiveness and Outreach Committee of the National CASA Association and the Board of the Human Services Coalition and was named the 2013 Kappa Alpha Theta CASA Program Director of the Year. CASA collaborates with nonprofit and government organizations to offer trainings and presentations on child abuse and the child welfare system. CASA staff are viewed as sought-after resources on child welfare best practices.

Since 2001, CASA has served more than 600 children; has expanded to serve at least 35 new children every year; has established an 84% permanent case closure rate; and has successfully planned and financed a rapidly growing organization. We have established relationships with key stakeholders and community collaborators that result in our youth receiving appropriate services and our organization being a part of vital decision-making processes. CASA is a recognized leader in the child welfare community and is often consulted as an "expert."

We have laid much of the ground work necessary to support organizational growth. Now we need to secure investments that will allow the organization to grow to meet the needs of the community. CASA plans to grow to be able to match 100% of children in foster care with a CASA volunteer.