Make a diffrence in a child’s life !

Make a diffrence in a child’s life !

Independent Research Demonstrates the Effectiveness of CASA Volunteers .
The Office of the Inspector General Report

In 2006, the US Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit of the National CASA Association, as required by Congress. The results of this audit were released in January 2007.

The objectives of this audit report were to determine the types of activities funded by National CASA and to assess local CASA programs' performance against four outcome measures for cases involving CASA volunteers as compared with non-CASA cases. These outcomes include the length of time a child spends in foster care, the extent to which there is an increased provision of services, the percentage of cases permanently closed and achievement of the permanent plan for reunification or adoption.

Audit Report Results for CASA Advocacy

Length of Time in Foster Care
Children in cases involving a CASA volunteer were on average in foster care longer (between 1.2 months and 2 months) The audit ascribes the longer time to two factors:

Cases assigned to a CASA volunteer tend to involve the most serious cases of maltreatment, in which the children were more at risk.
The children have already been in foster care between 4.5 and 5.5 months before assignment of a CASA volunteer.
Children with a CASA volunteer are substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care, defined as more than 3 years in care: 13.3% for CASA cases versus 27.0% of all children in foster care.

Number of Services Provided

When a CASA volunteer was involved, both children and their parents were ordered by the courts to receive more services. The audit concluded that this was an indication that "CASA is effective in identifying the needs of children and parents."
Percentage of Cases Permanently Closed

Permanent closure is defined as the case being closed for any reason and the child not reentering the child welfare system (CWS). Cases involving a CASA volunteer are more likely to be "permanently closed" (i.e., the children are less likely to reenter the CWS) than cases where a CASA volunteer is not involved. The statistics vary from only 1.4% of children with a CASA volunteer reentering the CWS (CASA Data Request) to 9% of CASA children reentering the CWS (Youngclarke Review). This is in contrast to 16% for children not served by a volunteer.
Achievement of a Permanent Plan for Reunification or Adoption

Children with a CASA volunteer are more likely to be adopted and less likely to be reunified with their parents than children not assigned a CASA volunteer. The audit explains this finding as the result of CASA volunteers serving on typically the most serious cases of maltreatment and therefore cases where children are less likely to be reunified with their parents.
Audit Report Results for Activities Funded by National CASA

Over 93% of National CASA expenditures went to fund activities directly supporting CASA/GAL programs.
National CASA expended 6.85% of grant money on general and administrative activities. According to the audit report, National CASA spends significantly less on administrative costs than the 16.3% average administrative costs for human services nonprofit organizations.

Additional Studies Document Results of CASA Volunteer Advocacy
Like our volunteer advocates, the National CASA Association and our local programs strive for fact-based decision-making. Below is a summary of conclusive results from the Caliber study and other CASA studies selected by researchers with the ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /University of California, San Francisco Fresno Medical Education program for their high methodological quality.

Notable conclusive results from these studies include the following (numbers refer to studies referenced after results):

CASA volunteers spend most of their volunteer time in contact with a child. (1)
CASA volunteers spend significantly more time in contact with a child than a paid guardian ad litem. (2)
CASA volunteers are far more likely than paid attorneys to file written reports. (3, 4, 5)
CASA volunteers are highly effective in getting their recommendations accepted in court. In four out of five cases, all or almost all CASA volunteer recommendations are accepted. (1)
When a CASA volunteer is assigned, a higher number of services are ordered for children and families. (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9)
A child with a CASA volunteer is more likely to be adopted. (8, 9, 10, 11)
A child with a CASA volunteer is as likely to be reunified with their birth parent as a child without a CASA volunteer. (3, 9, 11)
A child with a CASA volunteer is less likely to reenter the child welfare system. The proportion of reentries is consistently reduced by half. (8, 11, 12)
References

Caliber Associates, National CASA Association Evaluation Project, Caliber Associates; Fairfax, Virginia, 2004.
Donald D. Duquette and Sarah H. Ramsey, "Using Lay Volunteers to Represent Children in Child Protection Court Proceedings" (Appendix C). Child Abuse and Neglect 10(3): p. 293-308, 1986.
Sherrie S. Aitken, Larry Condelli, and Tom Kelly, Final Report of the Validation and Effectiveness Study of Legal Representation Through Guardian Ad Litem. Report submitted to the Administration on Children Youth and Families, Department of Health and Human Services by CSR, Inc.: Washington, DC, 1993.
Karen C. Snyder, John D. Downing, and Jill A. Jacobson, A Report to the Ohio Children's Foundation on the Effectiveness of the CASA Program of Franklin County. The Strategy Team: Columbus, OH, 1996.
Victoria Weisz and Nghi Thai, "The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program: Bringing information to Child Abuse and Neglect Cases," Child Maltreatment 8(X), 2003.
Larry Condelli, National Evaluation of the Impact of Guardian Ad Litem in Child Abuse and Neglect Judicial Proceedings. Report submitted to the National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect for the Administration of Children, Youth and Families by CSR, Inc.: Washington, DC, 1988.
Litzelfelner, "The Effectiveness of CASAs in Achieving Positive Outcomes for Children," Child Welfare 79(2): p. 179-193, 2000.
John Poertner and Allan Press, "Who Best Represents the Interests of the Child in Court?" Child Welfare 69(6): p. 537-549, 1990.
Gene C. Siegel, et al., Arizona CASA effectiveness study. Report to the Arizona Supreme Courts, Administrative Office of the Courts, Dependent Children's Services Division by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, 2001.
Susan M. Profilet, et al., Guardian ad Litem Project. Child Advocates Inc., 1999.
Shareen Abramson, "Use of Court-Appointed Advocates to Assist in Permanency Planning for Minority Children," Child Welfare 70(4): p. 477-487, 1991.
Michael Powell and Vernon Speshock, Arizona Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program, Internal Assessment, 1996.
Overview
In 1977, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. So successful was this program that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. In 1990, the US Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA programs with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.

Today, we have grown to a network of more than 50,000 volunteers that serve 225,000 abused and neglected children through 900+ local program offices nationwide. Our advocates, also known as volunteer guardians ad litem in some jurisdictions, are appointed members of the court. Judges rely on the information these trusted advocates present.

The mission of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association, together with its state and local members, is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in safe,

permanent homes.



www.nationalcas Our Network
National CASA and our network of over 900 local community program offices support volunteers serving children. The role of local CASA programs is to recruit, train and support volunteers in their work with abused children. Following is how National CASA and our state organizations work with local CASA programs.

Role of National CASA: National CASA offers critical leadership and support to provide quality advocacy and lead the continued growth of the CASA network. Some of our specific activities:

Training & Curriculum: National CASA creates new, research-based training opportunities, such as our new e-learning series on educational advocacy, and continuously improves our core volunteer training curriculum

Technical Assistance: We offer extensive technical assistance to help programs serve more children more effectively

Volunteer Recruitment and Public Awareness: We coordinate national campaigns to help recruit CASA volunteers and raise awareness about child abuse. In recent years, the CASA cause has been featured in various media, reaching more than 155 million individuals. Much of this awareness is the result of National CASA being selected as a CBS Cares network charity

Resource Development and Grants: National CASA provides pass-through funding to local and state CASA/GAL programs. Grant funding comes primarily from the Department of Justice but also from private corporations and foundations
Role of State Organizations: Working in partnership with National CASA and local CASA programs, state organizations provide:

Additional support, technical assistance and information to local CASA programs
Support for developing new CASA programs in the state
Opportunities for communication, networking and support among CASA program staff
Increased awareness of CASA work and the needs of children who are abused and neglected in their states . www.nationalcasa.org

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