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What Will I Do as a CASA?

Volunteer CASAs gather information and make recommendations to the court about a child’s best interests.  A staff supervisor is assigned to guide and support each volunteer throughout the process.  Most cases involve the following tasks:

  • Review the case with the assigned staff supervisor (in person or over the phone)
  • Complete a home visit with the child in each household
  • Interview the family members named in the case, preferably in their home
  • Interview a limited number of friends and relatives (phone or in-person)
  • Interview relevant professionals, such as teachers, therapists or service providers (phone)
  • Review records and documents received
  • Complete 1 – 2 written reports for the court by the specified due dates using a CASA report template
  • Appear in court with the CASA Program Attorney if the case goes to trial (the trial date is specified when the case is assigned)
Meet Our Community

 

Can I Volunteer as a CASA?

Volunteer CASAs (court appointed special advocates) encompass all walks of life; no specific experience is required.  We strive to increase diversity, inclusiveness and equity because vulnerable children deserve a strong and insightful community of volunteers to help them.  To volunteer as a CASA, you must:

  • Be 21 years of age or older
  • Have no criminal history
  • Have the ability to get to and from meetings in King County
  • Have reliable access to and be able to use a computer, including email
  • Possess strong verbal and written communication skills (English is the required language at this time)
  • Commit to at least one case assignment (6-12 months, approximately 10-12 hours per month)
  • Complete the required application, interview and initial training
Apply Now

 

How do I become an advocate?

  1. Submit application (see link above)
  2. Complete reference checks
    • It’s a good idea to follow up with your references and make sure they received the form, as it often gets caught in spam filters.
    • Email admin@familylawcasa.org if you need help.
  3. Interview to get approved for training
    • We will contact you when we have your completed references.
  4. Complete pre-training materials
    • There are 16+ hours of prerecorded material to review before training.
    • Detailed instructions are sent out 2-3 weeks before the live training date.
  5. Attend new advocate training
    • This will be held in person at our conference room, if possible.
    • This training is about 7 hours long.
  6. Attend Implicit Bias training
    • This will be held in-person at our conference room, if possible.
    • This training is about 3 hours long.
    • Please note this is an additional date to the new advocate training, usually 2-3 weeks after.
  7. Complete post-training paperwork
    • This will be provided during training.
  8. Get approved to take a case
    • Please note that you will not be fully approved to take a case until training is complete. The training is part of the screening process to become an advocate.
  9. Get a case assigned
    • Depending on how many cases the court appoints us to, it may take a few months to have a case assigned to you.
    • We do our best to match volunteers and cases based on experience and preferences.