CHANGE A CHILD'S STORY.

You can help ensure the safety and well-being of children who have experienced abuse or neglect when you make a donation to CASA of New Jersey.

BECOME A CASA VOLUNTEER

Children in foster care need someone to visit them, to stand by them, and to speak up for their best interests. Be that someone.

OUR IMPACT

Find out how a foster child’s life is impacted by having a Court Appointed Special Advocate in their corner.

OUR WORK

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of New Jersey program, together with county-based CASA programs, supports and promotes best interest child advocacy so that every child and youth placed in foster care and other out-of-home placements can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.

Children are removed from their homes when they have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents or primary caregiver. CASA volunteers ensure the health, well-being, and safety of these children until the child’s court case is closed and the child is placed in a safe, nurturing, permanent home.

CASA volunteers,  trained and supported by a local CASA program, are appointed by judges to advocate for a child’s best interests in court and the community.  

A CHILD’S STORY

Cheryl with Emma, Sarah and Danny

It happened suddenly one night; Emma, her sister, and her brother were removed from their home after the police responded to another domestic violence incident there. Fortunately, their Aunt Cheryl was able to take the children to live with her in her apartment.

Being responsible for three children was new to Cheryl. She struggled to manage a work schedule and the children’s school, social, and services schedules. It was difficult for her financially, and she began to miss payments for rent and utilities. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) expressed concern about Cheryl’s ability to care for Emma, Sarah, and Danny.

Fran, a CASA volunteer, was assigned by the court to the children’s case. She routinely visited the children at their aunt’s home. She witnessed the loving, caring, and stable 

relationship the children had with their aunt. They were safe and happy with Cheryl. In her reports to the court, Fran emphasized that Chery was trying her best to maintain stability for the children and how important it was to them to remain together as a family unit.

Fran recognized that Cheryl needed assistance adjusting to her new role as a parent and effectively advocated for DCP&P to assist Cheryl with stabilizing the placement rather than placing Emma, Sarah, and Danny with a foster family they did not know.

Reunification with their parents never became an option for the children. Thanks to CASA volunteer Fran’s support, Cheryl, now comfortable in her role as a kinship caregiver, adopted the children. Fran, who stood by this family throughout their journey, was there to celebrate the adoption.

 The CHILDREN & yOUTH

CASA of New Jersey empowers a statewide network of  fourteen county-based CASA programs that provide services to foster children and youth from New Jersey’s twenty-one counties. During the fiscal year 2023 ( July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023), CASA volunteers provided best interest advocacy to 2,880 foster children and youth. As of July 1, 2023, 1,549 CASA volunteers were serving 2,880 children. Following are the demographics of the children served by CASA volunteers during the fiscal year 2023.

CHILDREN BY GENDER

 

CHILDREN BY AGE

CHILDREN BY RACE

CHILDREN BY COUNTY

Atlantic: 298

Bergen: 133

Burlington: 145

Camden: 77

Cape May: 142

Cumberland: 109

Essex: 244

 

Gloucester: 154

Hudson: 264

Hunterdon: 17

Mercer: 185

Middlesex: 167

Monmouth: 243

Morris: 107

 

Ocean: 141

Passaic: 298

Salem: 66

Somerset: 62

Sussex: 71

Union: 338

Warren: 60

CASA child advocacy impact

VOLUNTEERS

1,549 Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers were assigned to a child’s abuse and neglect case during the fiscal year 2023.

TIME

CASA volunteers generously donated 72,228 hours of their time to provide best-interest advocacy to children and youth. They submitted over 4,749 reports to the court on behalf of the children and youth they served.

DEDICATION

97% of the 4,749 recommendations made by CASA volunteers in their reports to the court regarding foster children’s placement and needed services were accepted by the court.

Find out how you can become a CASA volunteer and help a child find a safe, permanent home here.

TAKE ACTION

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Change a child's story

Find out how a foster child’s life is impacted by having a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer by their side.

Learn about child advocacy >>

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VOLUNTEER

Foster children need someone to visit them, to stand by them, and to speak up for their them in court and in the community. Be that someone.

Volunteer as a CASA >>

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donate

A gift today will help to safeguard the health, well-being, and safety of the foster children and youth served by the CASA program.

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