Case workers and case planners are professionals working for the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) or one of their contracted foster care agencies. All children in foster care are assigned case workers. Their role is to oversee the foster care placement and make sure children are getting their needs met, and to facilitate a child’s “permanency” through family reunification, adoption or permanent guardianship. Because they have high caseloads and many administrative responsibilities on each case, it is often not possible for case workers to do all of the hands-on work that each child and family needs.
CASA is a not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization that is not part of the formal child welfare system. When a family court judge is concerned that a child or family is not getting all of their needs met through the child welfare system, they can appoint CASA-NYC and our volunteer advocates to the case. Our staff and volunteers work closely with case planners, foster parents, attorneys and others working in the system to “fill the gaps” and give children, youth, and families the extra attention, support, and advocacy they often need to navigate the child welfare system. Because CASA volunteers work on only one or two cases at a time, they have the time to really get to know the needs of the child or children involved in the case and provide much more intensive support than a paid case worker can provide. Because CASA is not a party to the case, our advocates can gather information from all parties and provide judges with objective information at every hearing to help them make decisions in the best interest of the child.
It is only when a family court judge is concerned that a child or youth is not getting their needs met by the city’s child welfare agencies that the judge appoints CASA-NYC to provide intensive, individualized advocacy to expedite the child’s permanency plan.
While not every child needs a CASA, judges request our help on far more cases than we have the capacity to serve. Currently, CASA-NYC serves only about 11% of children and youth in NYC foster care and a much smaller number of those at high risk of foster care placement. However, we are growing our capacity each year and aim to be able to provide a CASA to every child and youth who needs one.
Once assigned to a case, volunteers commit to serving for "the life of the case” — which could range for several months, several years, or more. It’s not uncommon for one volunteer to serve on a case for 5 years or longer. In the case of youth aging out of foster care, sometimes volunteers develop lasting relationships with the youth that extend even beyond the life of their case with CASA-NYC.
CASA-NYC is committed to supporting young people aging out of foster care as they transition into adulthood, and we continue working with those youth through age 25, long after the majority of the supports of foster care have fallen away.
Prospective volunteers complete a written application, reference checks, thorough background checks, and an interview. If accepted to a pre-service training class, they undergo more than 35 hours of initial training that is based on The National CASA/GAL Association's Curriculum and adapted for New York City.
Training includes content on navigating the child welfare system and other intersecting systems; the impact of mental health, domestic violence, and substance abuse on the families we serve; legal issues, educational advocacy; and anti-racist practice. Guest speakers with lived experience in the child welfare system provide insight into the experiences of parents, children, and older youth in the system.
After completing their initial pre-service training, volunteers interested in working with youth transitioning from foster care and/or pregnant and parenting youth undergo additional training to prepare them for working with these populations.
CASA-NYC offers a wide range of in-service training each month open to all volunteers, who are required to participate in a minimum of 12 hours of in-service training annually. In addition, volunteers may participate in group supervision where they discuss case issues with other volunteers and staff and are continuously receiving training and support from their supervisors.
CASA-NYC's EIN is 13-3172387.
Our EIN recently changed. If you have questions, please contact donorservices@casa-nyc.org.
CASA-NYC is a member in good standing of The National CASA/GAL Association and operates under the Association’s standards of best-interest advocacy, driven by the guiding principle that children grow and develop best with their family of origin, whenever safely possible. Through The National CASA/GAL Association, CASA-NYC also has the opportunity to apply for limited grant funding and has access to marketing materials and training opportunities; however, CASA-NYC is an independently operated and funded nonprofit organization.