CASA refers to Court Appointed Special Advocate, a trained community volunteer appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. The CASA concept is based on the belief that a child has the right to a safe and permanent home. Research has shown that a child with a CASA volunteer spends less time in foster care, receives more services ordered by the court, experiences fewer placement changes, shows fewer at-risk behaviors, and is more successful in school.

All children have a right to permanency and loving care. But each year, hundreds of thousands of children across the United States are abused, neglected or abandoned by their families. Last year, 110 CASA volunteers advocated for 361 children in our tri-county area of Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties. Imagine what it would be like to lose your parents, not because of something you did, but because they can’t – or won’t – take care of you. Now, into these children’s lives come dozens of strangers; police, foster parents, therapists, social workers, judges, lawyers, and more. Hopefully, one of these strangers is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer.

The Central Oregon Program recruits, trains and supervises volunteers from the community to advocate for the best interest of children who have been abused or neglected and are court involved. CASA volunteers come from all walks of life. They have a variety of professional, educational and ethnic backgrounds. They are selected based on the quality of their objectivity, competence and commitment. The Central Oregon CASA Program is designed to aid the court in giving these children a permanent home. CASA is a state and federally mandated program. Volunteers are appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. For many abused children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence – the one adult who cares only for them.

CASA of Central Oregon was established in 2005 with a merger of the Deschutes County and the Crooked River CASA Programs which had existed in Central Oregon since 1992. We service the counties of Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook with offices located in Bend, Madras, and Prineville respectively. CASA of Central Oregon is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.  Our goal is to provide a volunteer advocate for every abused and neglected child in Central Oregon. Each month there are roughly 80 children in Central Oregon waiting for a CASA volunteer. In recent years, between 25 and 35 new volunteers were trained and sworn-in each year by Judge Tiktin in Deschutes County and Judge Neilson in Crook and Jefferson Counties, but we still do not have enough volunteers or staff to provide a voice for every child. Please explore this website and contact our office to find out how you can make a difference for our most vulnerable citizens.