About Us

 

The History of CASA

1977 - Judge David Soukup in Seattle, Washington formed the first volunteer program for child advocates. Word of the sucess of that program  spread quickly and similar programs began all over the United States.

1982 - The National CASA Association was established to serve as a support organization for the growing number of programs in the country.

2002 - CASA of Stanislaus County was formed by members of the local community led by Presiding Judge William Mayhew and Presiding Juvenile Judge Marie Silveira.

 

2003 - On August 27, 2003 our first CASA case appointment was made. The advocate assigned, Cindia Julsgard, is our senior Case Manager and an active advocate to this day.

Today - CASA of Stanislaus County is a team of 60+ volunteers trained and supervised by the CASA staff and overseen by our CASA Board of Directors. We serve hundreds of abused, abandoned, and neglected Stanislaus County children each year giving them a voice and hope for a brighter future.

 

THE NEED
More than 500,000 children live in foster care in the United States. These children were abused or neglected and then removed from their families and the place they called home. Sadly, many can become a victim a second time in an overwhelmed child welfare system that does not allow for close attention to each child and their needs or wants.

Each day in California, 70 children who have been abused or neglected join the state's population of nearly 80,000 children in foster care. California is home to nearly one-fifth of all foster children in the United States. In Stanislaus County, there are  over  600 children in Foster Care at any given time. As dependents of the juvenile court, these children pass through a court system which can leave them frightened, confused and alone.

 

CASA's PART OF THE SOLUTION
Across California, thousands of volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) build close relationships with and serve as one-on-one advocates for children in foster care. More than 40 CASA programs in California recruit and specially train these volunteers from the community, who are then appointed as advocates by a juvenile court.

CASA volunteers commit to spending at least one year: 1) establishing a strong, stable connection with a child in foster care, 2) gathering information and making recommendations to the court about the child's best interest, and 3) advocating to make sure the child receives needed services. Too often, a CASA volunteer is the only consistent adult in the life of the child.

 

OUR GOALS
Our goals for the CASA movement in Stanislaus County are: 
     1) To serve and improve outcomes for more children,
     2) To continuously improve volunteer effectiveness, 
     3) To continuously increase program quality, and 
     4) To share our insights to improve child welfare laws and policies.

 

THE SUPPORT
CASA is funded through private and individual donations; corporate grants; Community organization donations (like Kiwanis, Soroptimist and Rotary); the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and people like YOU!

 

CASA is a Non-Profit 501c3

Our Tax ID # 91-2168629