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History
The first Court Appointed Special Advocates program was created in 1977 by a Superior Court Judge, Honorable David Soukup, who wanted to be sure he and other juvenile court judges were making the best possible decisions about the abused and neglected children who were in the jurisdiction of the juvenile court system.
He reasoned that "as a judge, I had to make tough decisions. I had to decide whether to take a child from the only home he's ever known, or leave him someplace where he might possible be abused. I needed someone who could tell me what was best for the child - from the child's viewpoint. That's what Court Appointed Special Advocates do."
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He and juvenile court judges throughout the country were left to determine whether to allow the child to remain in the home for the sake of family preservation, place the child into a kinship or foster care family, or place the child into a group foster care facility. Subsequently, juvenile court judges also determined whether to return the child to the home for family reunification, remain in the foster care system, or be adopted.
In these cases, he did not wish for these children, who were abused or neglected by the very persons who were to provide for their care, safety, love and nurturance, to also become the victims of a sometimes, overburdened child welfare system.
He conceived of the idea of recruiting, screening, training and supervising adult citizen's to serve as advocates for children who came before the court as a result of child abuse and neglect. He believed that the volunteers from within local communities, appointed to serve as an Advocate to one child at a time, would provide vital information and complement the child welfare system, in the best interests of the child.
Court Appointed Special Advocates programs are now operational in over 1,000 jurisdictional communities; located within every state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is the only national youth service program serving the combined interest of advocating for the best interests of abused and neglected children, the child, family and community welfare system, and the judicial systems responsible for the lifelong decisions of these children.
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Learn more about CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates of Washington County:
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