Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Ocean County, Inc. safeguards the best interests of the children who are in out-of–home placement. The professionally trained and supported volunteers act as the child’s voice within the court system. We are committed to ensuring each child a safe, nurturing and permanent environment in which to grow and reach his/her highest potential.

OUR HISTORY (Top)
For over ten years, the Ocean County Court system operated a court-run CASA program.  As a court-operated CASA program, there was no Board of Trustees, no fundraising and no community involvement.  The court-opearted CASA simply did not have the capacity to grow.  Recognizing this, CASA of NJ, along with the Ocean County Family Court and the Ocean County Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) created a steering committee of community members to open an independent non-profit CASA; the nonprofit version of the CASA program could expand its outreach and serve many more child-victims of abuse and neglect.  CASA of Ocean County Inc. is one of fifteen programs in New Jersey and one of nearly 950 CASA programs nationwide dedicated to providing quality intervention and advocacy services for children. 

In 1976 Judge David Soukup of Seattle, Washington, initiated the first CASA program.  Judge Soukup felt he needed further information regarding each child and their case in order to make an informed decision.  By using highly trained community volunteers to serve as advocates, the children now had a voice in the court room.  This Seattle program was so successful that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. 

OUR KIDS (Top)
There are presently more than 650 children in Ocean County that have been removed from their homes and placed in foster care, residential programs, and group homes due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

As their lives are dramatically changing, having been thrust into a world of social workers, attorneys, caregivers, and therapists, most children are frightened and confused. Stripped of all that is familiar to them, often separated from their siblings and without the comfort of their friends, their childhood is spent being shuffled from one place to another, and adjusting to new schools with every move.

THE NEED FOR CASA (Top)
Studies suggest that childhood abuse may be associated with a range of other problems, such as poor school performance, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, and suicide. Some show that children who have been abused are more likely to commit violent crimes as adults and are often more likely to abuse their own kids.

The state system that should care for children adequately and provide for their future is sadly overburdened and cannot regularly attend to the details of each child’s individual needs. The judges are asked to make life-changing decisions each year for a large number of the nearly 11,000 New Jersey children in out-of-home placement.

For these reasons, the judges from the Superior Court, Family Division refer the most serious cases of child abuse and neglect to CASA, so that one volunteer, can consistently spend time with one child, (often more than any other professional), assuring that the child is receiving the emotional support and attention he or she needs and deserves.

The CASA volunteer is then able to assist the judges by making recommendations to the court that are in the child’s best interest.

The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect included utilization of CASA among the first critical steps to bring the “national emergency” of child abuse and neglect in America today under control.

In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with the passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act which recognized the effectiveness of the CASA model for Juvenile delinquency prevention. 

THE CASA DIFFERENCE (Top)
CASA volunteers can be the difference between success and failure in a child’s life. The unique bond that forms between the volunteer and child is often the only enduring relationship that the child has while going through the foster care system. It may possibly be the first time a child feels someone cares what happens to him or her. As case workers and caregivers come and go the volunteer remains a constant, caring advocate for the child until a safe and appropriate placement is found. A CASA regularly assists in recognizing the specific needs of the child and the family. They monitor educational progress and physical health, help locate relatives, identify and access special placements, and ensure that the services the child receives are administered effectively.

The CASA volunteer provides an independent and objective perspective. They seek to improve communication and coordination of all parties involved in a child’s case in order to facilitate a speedier, proper outcome, making it possible to reduce the number of moves and the length of time a child waits for a permanent home. By simply listening, encouraging, guiding, speaking up for them, and helping to find a loving, permanent home, CASA volunteers give these children and teens a much greater chance of achieving a bright, successful future.

The United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention named CASA an “Exemplary National Program in Juvenile Delinquency Prevention,” and The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges named CASA as the “Outstanding Volunteer Program” in America’s juvenile and family courts.

THE CHALLENGE (Top)
CASA is always in need of ordinary people willing to make an extraordinary difference in the life of an abused child. By dedicating 10 to 15 hours a month, you can help one of Ocean County’s children who is waiting for someone to speak up for him/her.

Learn more about VOLUNTEERING or making a DONATION to help us provide more one-on-one support for these children!