About CASA of NorthCentral Nebraska
We are a volunteer-powered network of committed people from all walks of life who believe society has a fundamental obligation to provide children with a happy and safe childhood.
We are people just like you, who believe that every child has the right to be treated with dignity, to be safe, and to thrive in the embrace of a loving family.
Our History
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a nationwide movement that began in Nebraska in 1986. CASA of NorthCentral Nebraska is now forming a program to serve abused and neglected children. Our volunteer board of directors has obtained a 501c3 (nonprofit) corporation and membership with our National CASA/GAL Association for Children. Our goal is to begin recruiting, screening, and training volunteers in 2022. Those volunteers will serve as advocates for abused and neglected children living in Antelope, Boyd, Brown, Cherry, Holt, Keya Paha, Knox, Pierce, and Rock Counties in North Central Nebraska.
National CASA
CASA was started in 1977 by Seattle juvenile court judge, David W. Soukup, who was concerned about making drastic, life-changing decisions with limited and oftentimes insufficient information for young children that had suffered child abuse. He conceived the idea of volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. That first program has grown into a network of more than 1,000 CASA and Guardian ad litem (GAL) program offices, which recruit, train, and support volunteers in 49 states.
Each year, more than 600,000 children in this country experience foster care. Judges appoint CASA volunteers to represent the best interests of children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. Because there are not enough CASA volunteers to represent all the children in care, judges typically assign CASA volunteers to only their most difficult cases.