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Texas CASA announces the Big Voices for Little Texans license plate that does much more than identify your car. Purchase of the Big Voices for Little Texans license plate, and renewal of the plate each year, raises money to recruit volunteers who speak up for foster children in court. To purchase a plate, click here.

ABOUT US

 

Texas CASA Mission

Texas CASA advocates for abused and neglected children in the court system through the development, growth and support of local CASA programs.


Position Statement

When home is no longer safe for a child, and the child must enter the foster care system, a judge may appoint a committed volunteer called a CASA or court appointed special advocate®. The volunteer’s focus is on that child, giving hope and help in guiding the child to a safe, permanent home.


The History of CASA

Texas CASA is part of a national volunteer movement that began over 25 years ago, when a judge in Seattle decided he needed to know more about the children whose lives were in his hands. The solution he started was using community volunteers as a "voice in court" for abused and neglected children. These Court Appointed Special Advocates™ (CASA) provided him with the detailed information he needed to safeguard the children's best interests and ensure that they were placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible. The program was so successful that it was copied around the nation.

Today, the CASA movement has evolved into one of the largest volunteer organizations in the country. There are more than 1,000 CASA programs in operation - at least one in every state - and more than 70,000 trained volunteer advocates nationwide. In fiscal year 2009 in Texas, 5,646 CASA volunteers advocated for the best interests of 19,818 children in 204 counties. Unfortunately, more than half the children in care did not have advocates.

The first CASA program in Texas began in Dallas in 1979. Texas CASA, which was formed in 1989, serves the 69 local CASA programs currently operating statewide by providing funding, training, technical assistance, coordination for program expansion and development,advocacy, and tools and strategies for raising public awareness of child abuse and the need for volunteer advocates.