Advocates for Safe Homes

Henrico CASA is a nonprofit organization that developed out of efforts by Henrico's Juvenile Court judges and concerned citizens who aspired to improve the system's response to abused and neglected children.

The CASA program recruits, screens, trains, and supervises volunteers who serve as court appointed special advocates, aka CASAs. These volunteer advocates are dedicated to representing the needs of abused and neglected children.

Since 1994, Henrico Judges have sworn-in over 400 volunteers as Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA has consistently served 100% of the cases referred by these judges, reaching 3,750 children and counting.

Volunteers dedicate a combined total of 10,000 hours of time annually to ensure safe, healthy homes for children. This exceeds $300,000 of service to Henrico County each year.

CASA volunteers are appointed by Judges to complete an independent evaluation of each child’s circumstances, focusing on the safety and well-being of the child. In essence, they serve as the eyes and ears of the Judge outside of the courtroom. 

A CASA’s role is to learn, engage, collaborate, report and make recommendations to the court. While doing this, they become a consistent presence in the child’s life, offering stability and security. They also have the opportunity to build up families and promote healthy homes.

By speaking up for the best interests of children, we are ensuring better outcomes for the future. A recent report from the Office of the Inspector General highlighted significant benefits to children appointed a CASA, including:

• Children with a CASA are less likely to spend time in long-term foster care.
• Cases involving CASA are more likely to reach permanency.
• In the most serious cases of maltreatment, children with a CASA are more likely to be adopted by a new family and less likely to be returned to an unsafe home.
• When CASA is involved, both children and parents receive more services to better meet with their needs.

Henrico CASA is one of 951 program offices for court appointed special advocates across the United States. CASA volunteers have helped more than two million abused children since the first program was established in 1977.

Last year, more than 74,000 CASA volunteers served more than 238,000 abused and neglected children across the county. Visit the National CASA website to learn more about the organization and to locate other local CASA organizations.

Our best-interest advocacy is driven by the guiding principle that families offer vital connection and cultural identity for children. We work to strengthen children and families, together, when that can be safely achieved.

Studies make clear that adverse childhood experiences and a lack of permanency are a health crisis. The effects of childhood trauma are directly linked to mental illness, physical illness, and addiction in adulthood.

CASA is an important part of the solution.