
HISTORY

HISTORY
OF CASA
Where did CASA volunteers come from?
THE NATIONAL CASA MOVEMENT
Like all movements, CASA began as an idea.
Inspiration came to Seattle juvenile court judge David W. Soukup in 1976.
Judge Soukup had insufficient information to make a life-changing decision for a 3-year-old girl who had suffered from child abuse.
That’s where the idea came from: These children, who had experienced abuse or neglect, needed trained volunteers speaking up in the courtroom for their best interests.
Due to the program’s extreme success, communities across the nation began creating CASA programs of their own.
VOICES FOR CHILDREN
COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES
Voices for Children formed their CASA program in 2000. The first group of volunteers completed training in July 2001 and began serving abused and neglected children in Brazos County.
Throughout the years, Voices for Children has expanded their program to include an additional six counties. In total, Voices for Children serves Brazos, Burleson, Freestone, Grimes, Leon, Limestone, and Madison counties.
2001 - Voices for Children began serving foster children in Brazos County
2007 - Program expanded to Grimes County
2009 - Program expanded to Burleson County
2017 - Program expanded to Madison and Leon Counties
2019 - Program expanded to Limestone and Freestone Counties
CASA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a governing, volunteer board of directors. Voices for Children is a member of the National CASA Association and the Texas CASA Association. There are over 1,000 CASA programs nationwide and 72 CASA programs in the State of Texas.