Court Appointed Special Advocates of Sonoma County, Inc.

Each year, CASA recruits, screens, trains and orients 160-180 adults to serve as advocates for 180-220 children in the juvenile court system. CASA carefully matches each foster youth with an appropriate advocate who will provide long term and consistent support. The advocates represent the child in the Juvenile Court, report recommendations and findings and support the case as it moves through the court system.

These are our current goals and objectives:
1. To improve the lives of vulnerable foster children.
- Recruit, train and match 10-20 volunteer child advocates to 10-20 children every quarter.
- Ensure that 100% of advocates provide 10 to 12 hours a month of advocacy and mentorship.
- Facilitate access to extra-curricular activities for 100% of children served.
- Ensure an increase in the child’s self-esteem in 70-75% of cases.
- Ensure a decrease in the destructive behaviors upon initial assessment for 75% of children served.

2. To prevent homelessness, unemployment, incarceration, mental and physical health problems.
- Facilitate and advocate for appropriate placement for 85% – 100% of children served to decrease the chances of homelessness.
- 75% of the volunteers will contribute to the successful emancipation of teen youth by providing the guidance and direction needed to make career and higher education decisions.
- 100% of the volunteers contribute to the child’s educational plan.

CASA volunteers will ensure the children achieve successful futures by adequate placements, improved physical and mental health, and positive education outcomes through written court reports to judges with recommendations regarding the above mentioned. They will monitor case plans and court orders, help the children understand the court proceedings, seek cooperative solutions among individuals and organizations involved in the children’s lives. Independent research has demonstrated that children with a CASA volunteer are substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care and less likely to re-enter care.

Judges have often expressed the need for unbiased and crucial information in their overwhelming caseloads, and look to CASA to provide that information. The objective opinion of a CASA volunteer, who has no stake in the case except what is best for the child, is an invaluable aid to the court. We are there because we care. Serving one child at a time.

CASA volunteers are matched to children between the ages of 0 – 21, and provide approximately 10-12 hours of service per month on casework offering long term, consistent support. After reviewing the case information and court reports, the volunteer consults with clinical and program staff to develop a case plan. Prior to each court hearing, the volunteer prepares a court report containing his/her evaluations and recommendations for the child. The Juvenile Court judge reads and considers the CASA report, in addition to the social worker's report, prior to making his decision. Volunteers attend all Juvenile Court hearings that affect the rights and welfare of the child. Because of the growing number of cases filed in Juvenile Court and dwindling resources to adequately monitor the cases, judges find the CASA volunteers to be positive complements to providing the information necessary to make better-informed decisions.

CASA volunteers participate in a 32-36 hour classroom and field observation training, with an additional 10-12 hours of continuing education required each year. The initial training course is divided into six sessions over two weeks. Training topics include: an overview of the Juvenile Court; child welfare and probation systems; child abuse and child development; bonding and separation issues; cultural diversity; and policy and procedures, including mandated child abuse reporting and confidentiality guidelines. The training faculty is made up of skilled and experienced professionals including judges, commissioners, public agency department heads, and experts in child abuse issues. The training program is based on the National CASA Association curriculum, with several other elements added by CASA of Sonoma County including advocate safety, the effects on children of domestic violence, adolescent development, and the outlook on the Sonoma County foster care system.

Abused and neglected children need more help than the foster care system can provide, and that is why in 1977, a Seattle Superior Court Judge created and implemented the first Court Appointed Special Advocate - CASA Program in the country so that children’s voices and needs would be fully represented in his courtroom. He developed the concept of recruiting and training community volunteers to represent the best interests of children in court proceedings. Today, the CASA movement is 77,000 volunteers strong nationally. Yet, many children still do not have the hope that a CASA volunteer can offer. Without the consistent support from volunteer child advocates, abused and neglected children become lost in the Juvenile Court System.

The purpose of the CASA program is to ensure that abused and neglected children receive high-quality, sensitive, effective, and timely representation in court hearings to determine their guardianship. The US Department of Justice has supported the CASA advocacy model since 1985 through its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Founded in 1997, CASA of Sonoma County has been the “Child’s Voice in Court” and has served over 1,300 Sonoma County abused and neglected children over the years. CASA is one of 44 similar programs throughout California. Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Arnold Rosenfield founded the CASA program out of concern for the many children languishing in the foster care system, often victims of poorly documented or ill-conceived decisions. Judges have often expressed the need for unbiased and crucial information in their overwhelming caseloads, and look to CASA to provide that information. The objective opinion of a CASA volunteer, who has no stake in the case except what is best for the child, is an invaluable aid to the court. We are there because we care. Serving one child at a time.

CASA takes great pride in having made a meaningful place for itself in the Sonoma County Juvenile Court and Child Welfare System, as well as, to collaborate with other local organizations such as the Foster Youth Coalition, Teen Services, VOICES, Teen Shelter programs (TLC, THPP, SAY) and local colleges and trade schools. These collaborating agencies need the support of the CASA Program and our CASA volunteers as we accomplish more for foster youth when we are working together. Because of our collaborative mission and philosophy, our caseloads continuously grow and our program is been called upon to serve more youth and therefore to recruit more volunteers. We have great hope in seeing our youth have the opportunity to grow into self-sufficient and successful adults. The funding we receive from the foundation gives us the opportunity to increase staff and staff time, grow the outreach of our program while maintaining the quality of our services.

Since our inception in 1997, we have server over 1,400 children through the dedication of over 1,000 volunteers. CASA is prepared and equiped to advocate for about 220 children annually and has always around 65 children on a waitlist waiting to be assigned a CASA volunteer.