What is Greene County CASA?
Over 500,000 children in the United States are in the foster care system because their home environments are unsafe. In Greene County, Indiana, alone, there were 119 abuse and neglect cases open in the court system during 2008.
These children have suffered abuse, neglect, or other physical or sexual mistreatment, often due to one or both parents’ drug or alcohol addictions. Through no fault of their own, many of these children are removed from their homes and placed in foster care while their parents undergo services to address the problems in the home. In some cases the children are able to remain in their homes, perhaps with one or the other parent removed. Once in the system, the Court must determine whether the children can be reunified with their families or need a different, permanent plan for their lives, such as adoption or guardianship.
Children in this situation can be scared, confused, sad, lonely, and overwhelmed. Worse, the adults the children trust most may not be there to support them. That’s where a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) comes in.
41 volunteer advocates in the Greene County CASA Program served these vulnerable children in 2008, with many remarkable success stories, but there is a tremendous need for additional volunteers.
The Greene County CASA Program recruits, trains and supports CASA volunteers as they get to know the abused or neglected child, determine the child’s needs and what is in the child’s best interest for the future. The CASA volunteer communicates this information to the court so the child’s voice can be heard and so the child does not become "lost" in the system.
The CASA volunteer helps the child understand what is going on in the case and provides a friendly face, support, stability, and consistency for the child during legal proceedings amidst a sea of unfamiliar people - including police, doctors, child welfare workers, and lawyers. By presenting the best interests of abused and neglected children to the court, advocates help judges to make better informed, more timely decisions about children so they can be returned home or placed in a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible.
In addition to speaking for the child in court, CASA volunteers assist children in other ways to recover from the situations that placed them in foster care - providing encouragement and support to enable them to lead healthy, productive lives. Advocates serve as role models to children who often have no one else to turn to. For example, many advocates assist with educational needs, encourage career interests, and develop meaningful relationships with their assigned children that have a lifelong impact on both the children and the volunteer.
The MISSION of the Greene County CASA Program is to provide advocacy for the best interest of abused and neglected children involved in Juvenile Court proceedings as defined by Indiana law. We support the development, growth, recruitment, and training of community volunteers to serve as Court Appointed Special Advocates.
The OBJECTIVE of the Greene County CASA Program is to recruit and train volunteers to effectively represent the best interest of abused and neglected children in the Juvenile Court proceedings. Every child who needs an advocate should have a CASA volunteer to help develop a timely permanency plan and make recommendations to the court regarding appropriate rehabilitative and protective services.
The Greene County CASA Program is affiliated with the Indiana State Office of GAL/CASA, a part of the Indiana Supreme Court, Division of State Court Administration. Our program is certified by the state office and complies with the Indiana Supreme Court Program Standards and Code of Ethics for GAL/CASA programs. Volunteers from local CASA programs in Indiana advocated for 19,949 abused and neglected children in 2007. The Greene County CASA Program is also a member of the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association.