COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES OF TRAVIS COUNTY

About US

CASA of Travis County believes every child who’s been abused or neglected deserves to have a dedicated advocate speaking up for their best interest in court, at school and in our community. To accomplish this, CASA educates and empowers diverse community volunteers who ensure each child’s needs remain a priority in an over-burdened child welfare system. When the state steps in to protect a child’s safety because the people responsible for protecting them have not, a judge appoints a trained CASA volunteer to make independent and informed recommendations and help the judge decide what’s best for the child. CASA is the only child advocacy group working in the court system that provides a caring, consistent adult focused on the well-being of a single child.

History

CASA of Travis County was created in 1985 by concerned community members and judges and was the fourth CASA program in Texas – following the creation of the national CASA model by a Seattle family court judge in 1977. In our first year, CASA recruited and trained 43 volunteers who served 85 children. CASA of Travis County is now one of the top ten CASA programs in the nation, supporting more than 550 volunteers who advocate for at least 1,400 children a year.