CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates

When the Juvenile Court has determined that a child must be removed from his or her home to avoid further danger, the impact on the child can lead to an increased sense of vulnerability, helplessness and confusion that can stay with them a lifetime. You can offer an abused child hope and possibility. CASA of Santa Cruz County recruits, screens, trains and supervises volunteers to act on behalf of one child in the juvenile dependency court system. The CASA develops a one-on-one relationship with the child. CASA volunteers also work with attorneys and social workers. They review records, research information, and talk to anyone involved with the child, including parents, extended family members, doctors and teachers. From information gathered, a volunteer presents his or her best recommendations to the judge, for the safety and welfare of his or her CASA child. Very often, a case involving an abused child can slip through the cracks in the overburdened child welfare system. The best hope for that child is one pair of eyes and ears focused intently upon him or her. Those eyes and ears belong to that child's very own personal CASA volunteer.