CASA of Los Angeles

Using a strengths-based approach, CASA/LA's highly trained and dedicated volunteers (Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASAs) fill the gaps in LA County's overburdened foster care and youth justice systems by providing transformative one-on-one advocacy for system-impacted youth. CASAs provide children with life-affirming connections, resources and opportunities, particularly around permanency (placement in a stable home), physical and mental health, and education, and help guide the court's decisions towards more trauma-informed solutions.

CASA/LA's Educational Advocacy Program serves children ages 6-21 in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems who have acute educational issues. We match these young people one-to-one with highly trained and dedicated volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), who serve as educational rights holders, gather information (directly from children, their caregivers, and professionals) to pinpoint education barriers, make informed decisions on the child's behalf, and connect children to resources that support their individual needs.

CASA of Los Angeles, alongside DCFS and local colleges, will match volunteer advocates (CASAs) one-to-one with Non-minor Dependents (NMDs, or youth in foster care age 18-21) currently enrolled or transitioning to enroll at local colleges. In addition to helping NMDs secure benefits and basic needs, CASAs will help them navigate all aspects of college life, i.e. securing financial aid, campus housing, job opportunities, physical/mental health support, tutoring and whatever else they may need to graduate and thrive during this critical time.

Los Angeles County is working to keep young people out of the juvenile delinquency system by providing “diversion” programs. However, youth in foster care are often excluded from these programs because they do not have a parent to oversee their participation. CASA/LA seeks to recruit and train 400 volunteers to serve as advocates for youth in the foster care system who are facing time in juvenile delinquency and who need a community volunteer so they may participate in these diversion programs.

CASA of Los Angeles is recruiting graduate-level college students to help young adults in foster care exit the system and build thriving and independent lives.

Help CASA build an organizational collaborative to help more youth in foster care attend college.

The 30,000 children under the care of the Dependency Court in L.A. County are hurt, frightened, and confused children in desperate need of support and advocacy services -- a need that trained, court-appointed CASA volunteer advocates fill. CASA of Los Angeles will recruit 250 more volunteers to help these children navigate not only the trials of the courtroom but the trials of a challenged childhood.

CASA/LA will grow and diversify its volunteer base to serve more foster youth and to better support their needs.