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. Â
A CHILD’S STORY
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 stableÂ
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
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Gloucester: 154
Hudson: 264
Hunterdon: 17
Mercer: 185
Middlesex: 167
Monmouth: 243
Morris: 107
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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
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.
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.
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