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What is CASA?

Court Appointed Special Advocates® (CASAs) are community volunteers, just like you, who speak up for abused and/or neglected children.

Our CASA program belongs to a network of nearly 950 community-based programs that recruit, train and support citizen-volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and/or neglected children in courtrooms and communities.

  • Children in care in Washoe County on an average day 2023
    Children in care in Washoe County on an average day 2023

    660

  • Children served by CASA volunteers in 2023
    Children served by CASA volunteers in 2023

    100

  • Estimated volunteer hours in 2023 (in-kind value over $50K)
    Estimated volunteer hours in 2023 (in-kind value over $50K)

    2040

  • You can be the ONE we need!
    You can be the ONE we need!

    1


News & Notes

National CASA/GAL Network in the News

Opinion Piece: The All-Too-Common Tragedy of Foster Care

As part of The New York Times Opinion’s Holiday Giving Guide 2021, writer Jane Coaston highlights the critical work of CASA/GAL volunteers in the opinion piece “The All-Too-Common Tragedy of Foster Care.” Coaston, who is the daughter of a CASA volunteer in Cincinnati, Ohio, speaks to the struggles facing children and youth in foster care and spotlights the best-interest advocacy a CASA or GAL volunteer provides.

“The job of a [CASA] is to ask questions: To talk to teachers, social workers, parents and, most important, the children themselves. They ask what would make them feel safe and secure.” —Jane Coaston. 

For those without a subscription, The New York Times offers several free articles a month. If you’ve already met that number, save the link to read later or search for the title of the piece on Google or a social media platform like Twitter or Facebook. 

Photo credit: Alex Merto via NY Times  READ MORE