WHAT IS A CASA?

OUR CHILDREN NEED YOU

In Sacramento County, an estimated 2,000 children will spend time in foster care this year. These children need you to speak up for them.

OUR CHILDREN NEED YOU

In Sacramento County, an estimated 2,000 children will spend time in foster care this year. These children need you to speak up for them.

WHAT IS A CASA?

[KAH - SAH]

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASAs are volunteers of all backgrounds who make a commitment to advocate for the needs of the child or sibling group with whom they are matched. A CASA gets to know a child’s situation, communicates with professionals on the case, and makes sure the child’s needs are being met.

Over time, a CASA often becomes the most consistent person in a child’s life. At regular court hearings required for all children in foster care, our CASAs report on the children’s progress and needs, which is essential for judges to make the best decisions for their futures.

1

Attend an Information Session

Review our requirements for becoming a CASA. Then, view the recorded Orientation Session, where you will hear from our Recruitment and Training Director. Once completed, you may proceed to the application process.

2

Apply Online​

Complete an application online to become a CASA volunteer in Sacramento County. Your application needs to be submitted prior to your initial interview.

3

Interview

During your initial interview, you will have an opportunity to tell us about yourself and why you are interested in volunteering. In order to safely and effectively support children in foster care, we have a responsibility to ensure interested volunteers are there for the right reasons.

4

Train

Our hybrid training is designed to prepare you to be a successful advocate for child. You will engage in 35 hours of in-person and online instruction covering topics like child development, dependency law and cultural agility. There is a nominal fingerprinting fee, which can be waived if needed.

5

Meet Your Supervisor

After completing training, you will be matched with a Case Supervisor, a CASA Sacramento staff member who will work closely with you on the child’s case to provide support in all aspects of your CASA service.

6

Advocate

Once you’ve complete training and passed all required background checks, you are ready to advocate. You’ll be sworn in by the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Courts and will then be matched with a child or sibling set.

Learn, engage, recommend, collaborate, report

Find Out More About The
Roles And Responsibilities Of
A Casa Volunteer .

All CASA volunteers must satisfy the following requirements:
  • All Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA volunteers, must satisfy the following requirements:
  • Be at least 21 years of age to begin service.
  • Commit to a minimum 18 months of volunteer service.
  • Have at least 2 years of licensed driving experience in the U.S. and a U.S.- issued driver license valid in their state of residence.
  • Have reliable access to a vehicle.
  • Clear a criminal background check.
  • Be willing to drive to a variety of locations throughout the county.
  • Maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.
  • You may be ineligible to volunteer if any of the following apply:
    • You work or volunteer for an agency that serves children in foster care or their families.
    • You hold an active foster parent license.
    • You are in the process of adopting a child through the County of Sacramento.
    • You have more than 3 minor moving violations within the past 3 years.
    • You’ve had any major moving violations (DUI conviction, etc.) within the last 4 years.

CASA Top 10 Commitment List

  • Gather information in order to establish the facts and circumstances of the child’s situation by reviewing relevant documents and speaking with the child and people in the child’s life.
  • Engage in a relationship with the child by meeting regularly to construct your own recommendations based on the facts and what you observe and gather from the child.
  • Facilitate communication among the people involved in the case. Getting to know everyone involved in the child’s life is very important to understanding the facts and learning about the child’s life.
  • Provide written reports at every hearing which include findings and recommendations. The report documents the extent of the volunteer’s investigation, lists each source of information and includes sufficient facts to justify the recommendations.
  • Appear at all hearings to advocate for the child’s best interest and provide testimony when necessary.
  • Explain the court proceedings and the role of the CASA volunteer to the child in terms the child can understand.
  • Make recommendations for specific, appropriate services for the child and the child’s family and advocate for necessary services which may not be immediately available.
  • Monitor implementation of case plans and court orders, checking to see that the court ordered services are implemented Monitor court ordered services to making sure that the services ordered are actually provided and that the court is informed of any new developments.
  • Inform the court promptly of important developments in the child’s case to ensure appropriate actions can be taken to address any challenges.
  • Advocate for the child’s interests in the community by bringing concerns regarding the child’s health, education and mental health, etc. to the appropriate professionals to ensure that the child’s needs in these areas are met.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

DEI Commitment

CASA Sacramento recognizes diversity in socioeconomic status, cultural background, gender, religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, and viewpoints. It is by valuing the differences and varied strengths among us that we can best serve the children and, ultimately, the larger community. We intend not merely to state this commitment in writing, but to make it readily apparent in CASA Sacramento’s hiring practices, volunteer recruitment and training, appointments to Board of Directors, public outreach, and in our service on behalf of abused and neglected children.

CASA Sacramento fully endorses the principles and goals outlined in the National CASA diversity policy.

All Children - All Families

LGBTQ youth are over-represented in the child welfare system, and disproportionately likely to leave foster care without a permanent family. Many of these youth experience neglect, abuse, and/or abandonment specifically because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. (Source)

All Children – All Families (ACAF), a project of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, promotes LGBTQ inclusive policies and affirming practices among child welfare agencies, and formally recognizes those agencies that are leading the field with innovative approaches to inclusion. CASA Sacramento has been recognized for achieving the Tier of Recognition: Solid Foundation for Inclusion. At this level, agencies have implemented the essential elements of LGBTQ inclusion in policies and affirming practices. Benchmarks go beyond basic non-discrimination protections to the policies and practices necessary to actively “roll out the welcome mat” to the LGBTQ community. These agencies have also assessed their practices specific to youth and parents to ensure LGBTQ inclusion and acted to make these efforts sustainable for the long-term.

To achieve this level of recognition, the core policy and practice areas in categories 1-6 must be in place:

  1. Non-Discrimination: Establishing written policies to protect LGBTQ+ clients and employees from discrimination
  2. Staff Training: LGBTQ+ staff training is a core component of an organization’s efforts to create a culture that is inclusive and affirming of everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE). When connected to policy changes, training can give staff the skills and knowledge needed to translate policy into practice.
  3. Rolling Out the Welcome Mat: Taking concrete action to send an explicitly welcoming message, e.g. LGBTQ+ inclusion in agency forms and other paperwork, visual cues within the agency and external messaging.
  4. Parent Best Practices: Organizations review key practices, such as LGBTQ+ recruitment efforts and LGBTQ+ inclusion in trainings, to ensure that LGBTQ+ adults are welcomed and included.
  5. Youth Best Practices: The policy and practice areas specific to youth services focus on removing the most common barriers faced by LGBTQ+ youth to ensure they are safe, affirmed and supported to achieve permanency.
  6.  Sustainability & Capacity Building: Strategies that help support and build internal capacity for long-term and sustainable LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts.

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

CASA Sacramento’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee was formed in June 2020 with three staff members and two CASA Volunteers to create stronger and more collaborative ways to address the systemic oppression of others based on their ethnicity, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, country of origin, age, or disability. The Committee facilitates trainings with staff, board members, and CASA Volunteers about systemic issues that affect our youth in ways that may differ from the average Volunteer’s life experience. We strive to empower CASA Volunteers to leverage this knowledge to provide stronger, more effective advocacy for youth in the child welfare system.

Current Committee Members:

Danielle Dace, Training & Recruitment Director
Francesca Negri, Board Member
Dani Wogulis, Development Manager

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

CASA Sacramento is highly committed to diversity and a workplace environment that respects, appreciates, and values employees from all backgrounds.

CASA Sacramento is an equal employment opportunity employer. CASA Sacramento’s policy is to not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status (including registered domestic partnership status), sex and gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender identity and gender expression (including transgender individuals who are transitioning, have transitioned, or are perceived to be transitioning to the gender with which they identify), age (40 or over), sexual orientation, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. CASA Sacramento also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories.

Interested in becoming a CASA?

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