Atlanta Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc.

It is the goal of Atlanta CASA to ensure that children who have been abused and neglected find a safe and permanent home as expeditiously as possible. Atlanta CASA strives to reunite the child with its biological family. Therefore, the focus is to identify any needs of the family, any gaps in services, and ensure that the family has an opportunity to have their children returned home. In the Atlanta CASA service area, during state fiscal year 2020 and in the midst of a pandemic, Atlanta CASA provided volunteer advocates for approximately 1/3 of the abused and neglected children age 18 and under referred to foster care. To achieve the goal of providing a volunteer advocate for every child, we have to triple our volunteer base. With our loyal supporters, community and partners, Atlanta CASA is committed to achieving this goal over the next 5 years.

Increase number of children served and permanency outcomes by ....
I. Increased fundraising and diversify funding streams
II. Increase organizational capacity and infrastructure
III. Increased volunteer recruitment and retention
IV. Increased staff recruitment and retention
V. Build Community, Court and DFACS relationships

Atlanta CASA is governed by a diverse, volunteer group of leaders who are committed to CASA's mission. The paid CASA staff are educated professionals; the Executive Director, Program Administrator, Director of Programs, Community Outreach Coordinator, Training Coordinator, Engagement Coordinator, and a team of Advocacy Coordinators. The Community Outreach Coordinator is the initial face of Atlanta CASA in the community. This position recruits for volunteers. The Training Coordinator is responsible for ensuring candidates meet the requirements to becoming an Advocate by overseeing the 40-hour training workshops as well as facilitating additional in-service training opportunities as required by our national organization. The Advocacy Coordinators provide volunteer advocates with on-going professional support, consultation and supervision. The duties of the Advocacy Coordinators include but are not limited to providing background and contact information on cases, recommending alternatives in complicated cases, reviewing written court reports, and documenting the activities and progress of the cases. The Director of Programs supervises the Advocacy Coordinators, documents service deliveries for monthly and quarterly statistical reports and supports the Executive Director as needed. The Engagement Coordinator ensures the sustainability of the volunteers and offers support for continued advocacy. Each of the foregoing ensures that the Executive Director and Program Manager have the information needed to ensure resources are in place for successful operations. Atlanta CASA is affiliated with both the National CASA Association and Georgia CASA.

Foster children with CASA volunteers are four times as likely to graduate from high school. Children who have CASA volunteers are far less likely to be re-abused. CASA intervention stops the cycle of abuse that’s often passed on from generation to generation. In court, lawyers know the law and have dozens of kids’ files. Social workers know the DFCS policies and have dozens of kid’s files. But a CASA volunteer has just one file, and what they know is that child in that file.

Last year in Fulton County more than 1050 abused and neglected children were removed from their homes. Atlanta CASA served 380 of those children. This means that we were only able to help less than 40% of the children in need of advocacy. Atlanta CASA volunteers are typically assigned to the most serious cases of abuse and maltreatment. Last year 235 Atlanta CASA volunteers contributed 56,400 advocacy hours on behalf of those 380 child victims. Their efforts saved the county $1,434,252.00.