Casa Of Central Texas, Inc.

We envision a world where every child thrives in a safe, stable and loving home. Every day in this country, however, children are victimized by abuse and neglect. Every day, four children will die. Every day. Last year in Central Texas (Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe and Hays Counties), there were over 3,000 completed investigations of child abuse and neglect: over 1,000 children were in the protective care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS). When children are removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect they enter an overburdened child welfare system where individual attention is scarce. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Central Texas advocates for abused and neglected children in the court and TDFPS system, in schools, and in the community by recruiting, training and supporting dedicated volunteers.

• For the children, CASA is a voice protecting each child's well-being, preventing re-abuse, and helping find permanent homes where children may be safe, healthy and have successful futures.

• For our volunteers, CASA provides quality training, a professional network of support and a meaningful purpose to share their time.

• For the courts, CASA acts as independent “eyes and ears" while the children are in foster care, serving as Guardian ad Litem, gathering critical information, and giving reports to help judges make informed decisions in the child's best interest.

• For our donors, CASA offers an easy and rewarding giving experience, a fiscally sound, transparent and trustworthy charitable organization.

• For the community, CASA is a valued partner, with an eye toward long-term stability, service and community health.

Our core services include advocacy for medical, mental health, education, placement and permanency for the children. CASA is the only child advocacy organization appointed by the courts as Guardian Ad Litem to provide a screened, trained and dedicated adult to represent an individual child's best interests. A trained CASA volunteer is a researcher and a spokesperson, advocating for needed services and helping the court find a safe and permanent home for each child.

Our primary objective is to provide more children in TDFPS care with effective advocacy to achieve permanent homes, free of abuse. We recruit volunteers, screen and train applicants, and assign advocates to cases. We provide staff supervision essential for guiding volunteers through the complicated child welfare system and determining appropriate permanency outcomes for the children. We see children move toward permanent placement more timely, not lingering in temporary foster care, and we circumvent delays in services. Most importantly, the cycle of abuse is impacted, by replacing destructive role models with protective adults that model positive values and behaviors.

CASA of Central Texas formed in 1985 by concerned community members and became affiliated with the national CASA model developed by a family court judge. We had 18 volunteers in our first year. After 36 years, we now have 260+ volunteer advocates who serve over 600 children each year. We are an independently incorporated, locally managed organization. CASA of Central Texas follows a proven model and service standards guided by Texas CASA and the National CASA/GAL Association of over 1,000 local and state CASA programs. By maintaining a ratio of no more than 30 volunteers for every staff supervisor, and no more than 3 cases per volunteer, the children receive a high-quality, dedicated service. Every volunteer is thoroughly screened through completion of an application form, interview, background checks and reference checks. Every volunteer completes a 42-hour training curriculum including classroom, homework and court observation, and then is sworn-in by a judge at an installment ceremony in court.

After successfully completing a 5-year strategic plan in 2019, CASA board members and senior staff completed the Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT) as the next step to analyze four capacities believed to be crucial for organizational success (adaptive, leadership, management and technical). We were identified at the “Impact Expansion" stage of the organizational lifecycle. The assessment stated, “You are doing well in Core Program and Infrastructure Development showing that you have a solid base upon which to build. Your programs seem to be well linked to your mission and vision and you have systems in place that allow your organization to operate smoothly." Capacity building has four primary goals: 1) Ensure the long term sustainability of CASA, 2) Implement and enhance infrastructure to increase CASA's overall effectiveness, 3) Communicate to achieve maximum positive impact for CASA, and 4) Serve 100% of children in the court/child welfare system in our service area. FY20-21 has focused on adapting to the challenges of COVID19.

In FY20-21, CASA trained and supported 267 volunteer advocates who served 620 abused and neglected children, with 92% volunteer retention. Over our 37 year history in Central Texas, CASA has trained hundreds of volunteers and advocated for thousands of abused and neglected children and youth. Ten years ago, we had a trained CASA volunteer for 1 of every 3 children in state foster care. We have successfully expanded capacity to now have a trained CASA volunteer for 1 of every 2 children. Meanwhile, the total number of children in state foster care has almost doubled, meaning that the number of children CASA serves each year has MORE than doubled. We believe that every child deserves a voice, 100%. For many abused children, a CASA volunteer is the only constant adult presence in their lives. CASA has low staff and volunteer turnover which ensures further stability for the children.

After our second successful capital campaign which raised $2.5 million (2015-2020), CASA of Central Texas opened a permanent Training & Support Center in San Marcos, TX (Hays County) in 2020. The facility provides capacity needed for future growth, including a 32-seat training center and office space for 15 staff. In 2014, we completed an endowment campaign and created a donor fund for long-term investment and program sustainability. In 2007, CASA of Central Texas completed its first capital campaign and opened a fully-owned, debt-free facility in New Braunfels (Comal County) with an expanded training/conference room and office space for 12 staff.