CASA's Role
CASA-NYC volunteers advocate for children and youth in foster care, or at risk of foster care placement
The New York City child welfare system is overburdened, and the high workloads of case workers and attorneys often make it impossible for them to provide all of the hands-on support that children and families need. This may lead to children being unnecessarily separated from their families, which does immeasurable damage to children. Once children are in foster care, they do not always get their needs met, and sometimes languish in foster care longer than necessary. Many young people age out of care without ever having been provided with a permanent home or the resources and support they need to live independently.
Family court judges appoint CASA-NYC to their most complex cases
Family court judges appoint CASA-NYC by court order to the cases of children and youth with the most complex needs, and when they are concerned that a child is not getting the services and support they need from the child welfare system or is at risk of languishing in foster care longer than necessary.
Because CASA volunteer advocates are not a party to the case, they are able to gather information from everyone involved in the case and the child’s life and provide the judge with comprehensive reports about the family circumstances, where the child is living, barriers to family reunification or adoption, and steps that need to be taken to ensure the child’s safety, stability, and permanency. Our objective, fact-based reports allows judges to make informed decisions in the best interest of each child.
Each child or youth receives individualized advocacy as long as they need it
Because they serve on only one or two cases at a time and commit to serving for the life of the case, CASA-NYC volunteers take the time to really understand each child’s unique needs and circumstances. They then search out hard-to-find resources and work to connect children and their families and caretakers with the support they need.
We support family reunification whenever possible
When the goal is family reunification, CASA-NYC volunteer advocates work closely with parents to help them overcome systemic and individual barriers to safety and stability. This may include helping parents access domestic violence support services, health and mental health care, substance abuse treatment, safe and stable housing, employment, education, and income supports. The goal of our one-on-one advocacy and support is for families to be safely reunified whenever possible.
Keeping Families Safely Together
In most of the cases CASA-NYC is appointed to by family court judges, the children or youth have already been placed in foster care. In a small percentage of our cases, the judge asks that we assist a family where there is a very high chance of removal, but the child has not yet been placed in foster care. Our goal is to support the family to try to prevent foster care placement and the trauma of family separation when safely possible. Building capacity for our volunteer advocates to assist more families in achieving stability without experiencing separation is part of our 2021-2026 strategic plan.
Collaborating Across the Community
CASA-NYC’s unique role as a court-ordered service provider allows us to initiate and promote unified efforts across the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), foster care agencies, service providers, and government agencies. We maintain strong relationships with legal services organizations representing children and parents and collaborate with community organizations that offer a variety of services to our clients.