Make a Difference in the Life of a Child.

 

Started in July 2004, the 5th Judicial District/Isle of Wight CASA Program is part of the national network of 900 Court Appointed Special Advocate Programs across the country.  The mission of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association, together with its state and local members, is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in safe, permanent homes.

In 1977, Judge Soukop of Seattle, Washington sought to recruit volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court.  Today, with over 50,000 thousand volunteers across the country, CASA programs advocate for 250,000 children a year.  However, this is only half of the 500,000 children who are in foster care at any given time due to abuse and neglect.  Here in Virginia, there are 27 CASA programs across the Commonwealth serving about 7,000 children a year.

View the Make a Lifelong Difference video to see how our volunteers help children.