Welcome to the site of Friends of CASA, Inc.

Friends of CASA, Inc. is the 501C(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2003, whose sole purpose is to support the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and the abused and neglected children from our community served by that program. 

The children in the CASA Jefferson program have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect (i.e. through no fault of their own), as children in need, and are in foster care.  All children deserve the most basic of life's necessities: a safe, permanent and loving home.  It is the volunteer advocates' mission to find such homes for the foster children assigned to them.  A CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) receives special training in order to investigate, facilitate, monitor, and advocate for his or her child, and shepherd that child through the juvenille court and foster care system until the child has been placed in a safe, permanent home.

CASAs are powerful voices for "their children." A child with a CASA is more likely to be placed in a permanent home than be bounced to multiple foster homes. A child with a CASA is substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care (defined as more than three years). A child with a CASA is more likely to get the targetted, specific services he or she needs to thrive.  A child with a CASA is less likely to reenter the child welfare system after his or her case closes. A child with a CASA is more likely to grow up to be a stable, productive citizen.

In 2008, 164 CASA Jefferson advocates served 325 children. In 2008, 142 cases closed with 138 children reaching safe and permanent homes. CASA Jefferson advocates engaged in 1,987 in-service training hours and reported a total of 16,180 volunteer service hours. CASAs reported 10,670 face-to-face contacts on behalf of their children.  CASAs completed 380 court reports.  In 2008, 1,106 recommendations made by CASA Jefferson advocates became orders of the Court.