COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE
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Mission Statement
CASA of Baltimore's mission is to provide court appointed special advocates to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in Baltimore’s juvenile court system to encourage reunification, help them find a permanent family, and reach their full potential.
About This Cause
Established in 1988 and incorporated as a nonproit organization in 1995, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Baltimore, Inc., has provided court advocacy and support to many foster children in Baltimore City for the past 20 years. CASA of Baltimore City is a VOLUNTEER driven organization that recruits, trains and supervisors volunteers appointed to individual foster children by the Baltimore City Juvenile Court to provide written, objective recommendations to the court, to serve as consistent adult presence. CASA has the following overall goals: to improve the treatment of child victims of abuse by providing the voice to ensure needed services are provided, to aid in youth not remain in the temporary placements of foster care but safe and permanent homes, to support older youth to be prepared to live safely independent when leaving the foster care system, and most importantly to inform the court of what is in the best interest of abused children. The Juvenile Court in Baltimore City recognizes CASA volunteers as “friends of the court”. The CASA program is authorized to operate in Maryland by adoption of Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article 3-834.1 of the Annotated Code Maryland (1989). Every child in the Baltimore City Juvenile Court is appointed an attorney and that attorney is obligated to represent the child's wishes if the child has considered judgment. The essential role of the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer is to advocate for the best interests of the child. Each CASA volunteer appointed by the Juvenile Court is assigned to one child, making a minimum commitment of one year of service. The CASA volunteer establishes a relationship, visits the child wherever the child lives and with authority given by the Court, reviews records, interviews parents, foster parents, teachers, social workers, attorneys, relatives and other people relevant in the child’s life, becoming informed of the issues that must be addressed and identifying needs each child has that are not served. Armed with this unique relationship and information the CASA volunteer communicates recommendations to the Court through a written report and a presence at each hearing. CASA of Baltimore requires CASA Volunteer pre-service training for all prospective volunteers. Pre-service training is 15 classroom hours, 15 online hours and 2-5 hours of court observation and debriefing. This training is offered 4 times throughout the year. CASA serves youth ages 0-21 years old.