A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained citizen who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in court.

A CASA volunteer provides a judge with carefully researched background of the child to help the court make a sound decision about that child's future. It is the CASA volunteer who must determine if it is in a child's best interest to stay with his or her parents or guardians, be placed in foster care, be placed with relatives, or be freed for permanent adoption.

CASA volunteers come from all walks of life, with a variety of educational and ethnic backgrounds. there are more than 58,000 CASA volunteers nationally. Aside from their CASA volunteer responsibility, 50 percent are employed in regular full-time jobs.

Each case is different. A CASA volunteer usually spends about 10 hours doing research and conducting interviews prior to the first court appearance. More complicated cases take longer. Once initiated into the system, volunteers work about 10-15 hours a month.

CASA is a voice for abused and neglected children in court.
Every year nearly 18,000 abused and neglected Indiana children are in need of safe, permanent, nurturing homes. Too many spend years moving from one temporary home to another. They have no family to call their own. They are more likely than other children to face homelessness, unemployment, unwanted pregnancy, and even prison as adults.
That's where CASA steps in. CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) was created in 1977 to make sure the abuse and neglect these children originally suffered at home does not continue as abuse and neglect at the hands of the system.

The ideal CASA volunteer will possess maturity, good judgment, concern for children, the ability to maintain confidentiality, good listening skills, objectivity, flexibility, good oral and written communication skills, and a professional manner.