The inspiration for the Court Appointed Special Advocate program came from a Seattle juvenile court judge, David W. Soukup in 1976. He felt he had insufficient information to make a life-changing decision for a 3-year-old girl who had suffered from child abuse. “It terrified me to make decisions about kids when I didn’t have anybody there,” he observed. Soukup formulated the idea that volunteers could be dedicated to a case and speak for children's best interests. Fifty volunteers responded to his idea, which started a movement to provide better representation for children throughout the United States who had experienced abuse or neglect. Since then, CASA programming has grown to cover 49 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
You can join us by volunteering.
Learn more about the history of CASA here.