PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

                                       CASA

                                         of 

                                  Imperial County

The goal of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Imperial County (CASA) program is to prevent abused and neglected children from becoming lost in the Juvenile Dependency system.  The objective of matching a CASA volunteer, a trained advocate from the community, is to ensure that the child's best interest is represented.  The volunteer has three essential roles as an advocate: 1) to be the child's voice in court, representing their best interest ; 2) to assist the Juvenile Court by researching and assessing the circumstances of each case and report their recommendations and findings; and 3) to continue to monitor the progress of the case as it moves through the system to reduce Judicial delays and continuances.

The program recieves referrals directly from the Juvenile Court.  CASA's are matched to the child to provide approximately 12-15 hours of service per month. After reviewing the case information and court reports, the volunteer consults with program staff.  Prior to each court hearing , the volunteer prepares a court report containing their evaluations and recommendations for the child.  The Juvenile Court Judge reads and considers the CASA report along with the social worker's report prior to making a decision.  Volunteers attend all Juvenile Court hearings that affect the rights and welfare of the child.  Each CASA volunteer receives 40 hours of expert, ongoing training in skills necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities.

CASA volunteers are in a unique position because they provide information not usually available to the Juvenile Court.  Because of the enormous number of cases, judges are often compelled to make permanency planning decisions based on less than complete or objective data.  Decisions are futher complicated in situations where a social worker is in direct conflict with parent's request.  The objective, unbiased recommendation of a CASA Volunteer, who has no vested interest in the case outside of the best interest of the child, is an invaluable aid to the Judge.

In addition to our services to abused and neglected children, the CASA program works to provide community education and awareness around the issues of child abuse, neglect and child welfare policy.  We are also committed to working towards public policies that promote child abuse prevention and address reforms in the Juvenile Dependency/ Foster Care System.