In communities all across Iowa, there are children who have experienced abuse or neglect. They need someone to stand up for them … someone who will be in their corner no matter what.
They have been removed from their homes and put under the supervision of the court system and the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) because their homes aren’t safe, their parents not capable of caring for them due to substance abuse, mental health problems or incarceration.
There were more than 10,500 such children in Iowa in 2020 (8,592 of them referred for supervision by DHS) at a cost of nearly $223 million. More than 533 CASA volunteers served 1,377 children, contributing a value of more than $800,000. But for every one child who’s represented by a CASA, there are six who aren’t.
We need a CASA volunteer for every child, because CASAs help children know that someone cares, someone is THERE to amplify their voices.
CASA volunteers are ordinary citizens who come from different backgrounds, neighborhoods and communities just like the kids they help. They are you.
