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In 1977, Judge David Soukup, presiding judge of
King Co. Superior Court in Seattle, started a volunteer guardian
ad litem program to make sure he would know all he could
about the long-term welfare needs of each child that came
through his court room. During that first year, the King
County program provided 110 trained volunteers for 498 children
in 376 dependency cases.
In autumn 1977, the Children in Placement Committee of the National Council
of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) developed guidelines to
help the juvenile justice system protect the child’s right to a
safe, permanent family. The committee coined the umbrella term “Court
Appointed Special Advocate” – CASA – denoting any volunteer
following a clearly defined role as a friend of the court.
In 1988, Washington State CASA was formed by
local CASA programs to carry out statewide training, legislative
advocacy data collection and awareness statewide about the
issues affecting abused and neglected children.
By 1999 there were 52,700 CASA volunteers across
the United States. In 1984, the National CASA Association
opened its office in Seattle, Washington. NCASAA provides
funding to start new CASA programs, expand existing programs,
and develop state CASA Associations. They host a national
annual conference for volunteers, program management and
board members. NCASAA is a powerful voice for children in
Congress and across the nation.
For a detailed history of CASA in Washington
State, click
here.
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