Solutions CASA Offers
- Prevention:
- A large percentage of children who come before the court
as deprived children later return to court in delinquency cases. Children who are
abused and neglected are the same children who are committing crimes in our community.
Early intervention by CASA can reduce the likelihood of a child becoming a delinquent.
- Premanent Placement for Children:
- Every child should have a safe, loving and
permanent home, but many do not. Each year in Georgia, thousands of children become entangled
in the juvenile justice and foster care programs because they are victims of abuse and
neglect. A large majority of the children are taken from their homes and placed in an already
overburdened system where they can get "lost" for months and even years. Because CASAs
recommend what would be in the best interest of the child and search for a permanent placement,
there is a significant reduction in the amount of time a child spends in temporary foster care if he
has a CASA. CASA helps not only to end abuse or neglect experienced by each child, but also to break
the cycle of violence and abuse that would otherwise continue through that child.
- Consistent Advoate in the Child's Life:
- CASA volunteers are often one of the few
consistent figures in a child's life. While a child may have many caseworkers, foster parents,
schools, and residences, the CASA stays with the child for the duration of a case. Because CASA carry
an average caseload of only 2 cases, they are able to give each child what others in the system
do not have - TIME. The CASA spends numerous hours working on these cases, and the CASA's only
job is to speak for the child to assure that his or her best interests are not overlooked. Each
CASA commits an average of approximately 20 hours per month to Cobb County CASA, for a period of
at least one year.