Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA of Travis County
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About [Edit]
Our Mission is to recruit, screen, professionally train and supervise volunteer advocates to provide ‘guardian ad litem’ representation for abused and neglected children in the court system.
Our Vision is to ensure that every child in Travis County lives in a safe, healthy, and nurturing family environment.
Concerned over making decisions about abused and neglected children's lives without sufficient information, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court. This Seattle program was so successful that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. Eventually in 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.
Established in 1985, CASA of Travis County was the fourth CASA program launched in Texas. Initial funding for the program came from a Junior League of Austin grant along with donated office space from Travis County resulting in 22 CASA volunteers completing training that year. At year end in 1986, CASA of Travis County had served 85 abused and neglected children on 60 cases with 43 active volunteers.
The organization has grown steadily ever since. By 1992, the local chapter had adopted the extended 40-hour training program recommended by National CASA. In 1998, The University of Texas School of Social Work Research completed a study of children served by CASA of Travis County. The study concluded that CASA Volunteers moved children to a safe, permanent home six months faster than children without a CASA volunteer.
The Travis County courts eventually increased responsibility from CASA as a "friend of the court" to "Guardian ad litem." At year end in 2004, CASA of Travis County had served 1,134 abused and neglected children on 579 cases with 400 active volunteers. We recently increased the number of training sessions will increase to eleven in efforts to extend a hand, heart, and voice to the remaining 37% of children in need.
In Travis County, under the Family Code, CASA operates as a "Guardian ad litem." Chapter 107 states that 'in a suit filed by a governmental entity, the court may appoint a person who has received the court's approved training and who has been certified by the court to appear at hearings as a volunteer advocate on behalf of the child.'
Our Vision is to ensure that every child in Travis County lives in a safe, healthy, and nurturing family environment.
Concerned over making decisions about abused and neglected children's lives without sufficient information, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court. This Seattle program was so successful that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. Eventually in 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.
Established in 1985, CASA of Travis County was the fourth CASA program launched in Texas. Initial funding for the program came from a Junior League of Austin grant along with donated office space from Travis County resulting in 22 CASA volunteers completing training that year. At year end in 1986, CASA of Travis County had served 85 abused and neglected children on 60 cases with 43 active volunteers.
The organization has grown steadily ever since. By 1992, the local chapter had adopted the extended 40-hour training program recommended by National CASA. In 1998, The University of Texas School of Social Work Research completed a study of children served by CASA of Travis County. The study concluded that CASA Volunteers moved children to a safe, permanent home six months faster than children without a CASA volunteer.
The Travis County courts eventually increased responsibility from CASA as a "friend of the court" to "Guardian ad litem." At year end in 2004, CASA of Travis County had served 1,134 abused and neglected children on 579 cases with 400 active volunteers. We recently increased the number of training sessions will increase to eleven in efforts to extend a hand, heart, and voice to the remaining 37% of children in need.
In Travis County, under the Family Code, CASA operates as a "Guardian ad litem." Chapter 107 states that 'in a suit filed by a governmental entity, the court may appoint a person who has received the court's approved training and who has been certified by the court to appear at hearings as a volunteer advocate on behalf of the child.'
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