The Children of CASA

In 2010 Franklin County CASA volunteers advocated for 76 children who are in foster care and part of the Juvenile Court System. 15 of these children were reunited with their parents in the last year, one child was adopted and found their forever family while maintaining a relationship with his biological mother, and another child gained her own independence after living in foster care for many years.  All of these are happy endings to a rough road traveled.  Children appointed a CASA volunteer can be as young as an infant or as old as 21 years.  The average age of the children served by the CASA program in the last year was 7 years old with the majority (38%) of children ranging from 12-17 years.  76% of the children served by the program were Caucasian and 51% female.  CASA volunteers will visit with their CASA children while the children are living in foster homes, with their parents or family friends, in their own apartments, with a relative or in a residential treatment center.  The CASA volunteer meets the child where they are and works them until they find a safe and permanent home.  In the last year the average number of months a CASA was appointed a child until permanency was met was 16 month, with the average length of time a child remains in foster care in Franklin County was 23 months.

CASA Volunteers

In 2010 the Franklin County CASA program supervised 38 Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers.  CASA volunteers bring a wealth of knowledge, a variety of backgrounds, and talents to the children in which they are appointed.  In the last year there were 33 female and 5 male advocates ranging from 28 to 68 years of age.  The majority of the CASA volunteers are between the ages of 50-59.  When considering the commitment required being an advocate, a surprising statistic is that over 50% of the CASA volunteers are employed full time.  The professions of our CASA volunteers range from educators, to accountants, to city administrators and everything in between.  They are stay at home moms, retired professionals or work part time.  Over 65% of the CASA volunteers have college degrees or have taken college courses. In 2010 there were 12 new CASA volunteers who participated in the 30 hours pre-service training and were then sworn in by Honorable Judge Tobben.  In 2010 CASA volunteers donated over 2,000 hours of service to children of Franklin County.