From CASA of Travis County, this month's Get Involved spotlight non-profit:
About CASA:
CASA of Travis County speaks up for children who’ve been abused or neglected by empowering our community to volunteer as advocates for them in the court system. When the state steps in to protect a child’s safety, a judge appoints a trained CASA volunteer to make independent and informed recommendations in the child’s best interest.
Created in 1985, CASA of Travis County is now one of the top ten CASA programs in the nation, supporting over 600 volunteers who advocate for more than 1,600 children a year.
For every child who needs us, CASA of Travis County envisions a trained volunteer advocate, a safe home and a promising future.
For children who’ve been abused or neglected, CASA means having a home instead of feeling lost, and being a priority instead of feeling invisible. For volunteers, CASA is a life-changing experience that makes our community a better place.
Vision:
Become a CASA Volunteer:
CASA volunteers come from every walk of life and share a commitment to improving children’s lives, a willingness to learn, and an open mind towards life experiences different from their own. Volunteers complete an interview, background checks and a 39-hour intensive training program including in-person and online classes and courtroom observation. After being sworn-in by a judge, volunteers are appointed to a child or family of children and spend an average of 15-20 hours a month advocating for these children for at least a year. They get to know the child while also gathering information from the child’s family, teachers, doctors, care-givers and anyone else involved in the child’s life in order to make independent and informed recommendations to help the judge decide what’s best for the child.
To learn more about becoming a CASA volunteer, visit www.casatravis.org/volunteer or call 512.459.2272. You can also RSVP for an upcoming Volunteer Info Session at www.casatravis.org/volunteer/infosession.
