Casa of Los Angeles

CASA of Los Angeles seeks to reduce and reverse the effects of child abuse and neglect, with ultimate goals of safety, permanency, and well-being for children in the foster care system. This year, 1,158 volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) served 1,308 children. CASAs served 1,291 of those children through one-on-one advocacy by learning about their individual living situations, identifying needs, and providing recommendations to the court in the best interest of the child. CASA volunteers help children find safe, permanent homes, encourage family visitation, and support children's medical, mental health, and educational needs. CASAs served 17 unique children through our newer Essential History Program, in which volunteers complete a detailed review of a child's file and write a report outlining the child's developmental, medical, and mental health history to ensure critical details are not overlooked by the various stakeholders in the child's case. This program aims to help social workers, attorneys and judges make trauma-informed decisions about the young people they serve by providing them with a summary of the young person's experiences and history in critical areas of life.