Mission

Henrico CASA is a nonprofit organization committed to advocating for the best interests of children involved in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court process. The CASA program recruits, trains, and supervises competent volunteers dedicated to representing the needs of abused and neglected children, as well as other children in juvenile dependency proceedings. The program promotes safe, permanent homes for all children and seeks to educate the community concerning the needs of abused and neglected children.

While other crime statistics declined, reports of abuse and neglect continue to increase. According to a study by Prevent Child Abuse America, child abuse and neglect cost the United States an estimated $258 million per day. While the thought of harming a child is incomprehensible, it is important that we not only recognize the pain the children feel, but the long-term effects child abuse has on our community as a whole.

Children who suffer abuse or neglect are 53 percent more likely to become juvenile delinquent, 38 percent more likely to be arrested as adults, and 38 percent more likely to become violent criminals, according to a study conducted for the National Institute of Justice. What's more, abused and neglected children have more difficulty in school, higher unemployment rates, more low paying jobs and higher rates of suicide attempts. The costs associated with child abuse are phenomenal. The National Institute of Justice estimates that child abuse costs this country approximately $56 billion annually. The human loss is incalculably greater.

Approximately 57 percent of victims and 25 percent of nonvictims received services as a result of an investigation or assessment. Additional analyses indicated that children who were prior victims of maltreatment were 52 percent more likely to receive services than first-time victims. Additionally, children with multiple types of maltreatment were 73 percent more likely to receive services than children who were victims of physical abuse only. Services included both in-home and foster care services. Approximately 15 percent of child victims were placed in foster care. About 3 percent of nonvictims also experienced a removal-usually a short-term placement during the course of the investigation.

The National CASA Program ~ Last year, more than 68,000 CASA volunteers served more than 240,000 abused and neglected children through 1,018 program offices. CASA volunteers have helped more than two million abused children since the first program was established in 1977. You can learn more about the organization (and locate other local programs) by visiting the National CASA Web site. www.nationalcasa.org

The Henrico CASA Program ~ Henrico CASA is a nonprofit organization which grew out of efforts by Henrico's Juvenile Court judges and a group of concerned citizens to improve the system's response to abused and neglected children. Since 1994 there have been over 300 volunteer advocates sworn in to advocate for the children and families of Henrico County.

CASA ensures better

outcomes for children!

A report from the Office of the Inspector General

In 2006, the US Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit of the National CASA Association, as required by Congress.

Following are highlights of the findings.

Children with a CASA volunteer are substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care, defined as more than 3 years in care: 13.3% for CASA cases versus 27.0% of all children in foster care.
When a CASA volunteer was involved, both children and their parents were ordered by the courts to receive more services. The audit concluded that this was an indication that “CASA is effective in identifying the needs of children and parents.”
Cases involving a CASA volunteer are more likely to be permanently closed than cases where a CASA volunteer is not involved. The statistics vary from only 1.4% of children with a CASA volunteer reentering the CWS (CASA Data Request) to 9% of CASA children reentering the CWS (Youngclarke Review). This is in contrast to 16% for children not served by a volunteer.
Children with a CASA volunteer are more likely to be adopted and less likely to be reunified with their parents than children not assigned a CASA volunteer. The audit explains this finding as the result of CASA volunteers serving on typically the most serious cases of maltreatment and therefore cases where children are less likely to be reunified with their parents.

To read the full study, download the PDF (1 MB).Impact on our Community