About the Marin CASA Program
Our goal is to see every child thrive in a safe, permanent and supportive home.
As sworn officers of the court, our volunteer advocates are responsible for making recommendations for the safety, permanence and well-being of every Marin CASA child. By building a consistent and supportive relationship with each child, Marin CASA makes a difference one child at a time.
Marin CASA’s Mission & Vision
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) provide consistency and support for children in the Marin County Juvenile Court System who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Without compromise CASAs speak up for the best interests of their children in the courtroom and the Child Welfare System to ensure that they are safe and their needs are being met.
We believe that every child deserves to be safe and treated with respect and dignity; every child has a right to a loving home where they can grow and learn; and every child should have the opportunity to become a successful, contributing member of our community.
CASA’s History
The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) concept began in 1976 and has since become a national volunteer movement. Seattle Superior Court Judge David Soukup founded the program based on his experience in the courtroom. As he was determining life-changing outcomes for children who had experienced abuse and neglect, he looked around the courtroom and saw there was no one there who could speak for the child. According to Judge Soukup, in an LA Times interview, ‘I was consumed by the fact that I didn’t have enough information about each child, and I just didn’t know if I had done the very best job I could.” Judge Soukup came up with an idea: well-trained volunteers who could ensure children’s voices were heard and provide judges with the necessary insight to make the best possible decisions. By 1977, Judge Soukup formed the first CASA program. The first program recruited, screened, trained and supervised fifty everyday people who volunteered to build meaningful relationships and advocate for children in the dependency court system.
Since those fifty volunteer advocates in 1977, a network of close to 1,000 CASA programs serving children has formed nationwide. Marin Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is one of those programs.