Atlanta Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is celebrating 30 years of advocating for abused and neglected children in Fulton County’s court system.
The non-profit organization trains volunteers to advocate on behalf of children in the foster care system – whether they are living with a relative, in a foster care home, a halfway house, or in a mental health facility – to help with achieve outcomes that are in the best interest of the child.
“Being at the helm of Atlanta CASA as we celebrate the 30th anniversary is a moment that I feel with reflection, true leadership, responsibility and hope for the kids of Fulton County. For me, it means carrying forward a mission that has stood firm in its commitment to children in foster care and DFCS custody,” CEO Domonique Cooper said.
To date, 130 Atlanta CASA volunteers has advocated for 209 children from newborn to 18 years old. This number fluctuates during the year, a spokesperson said. About 380 children will be served by Atlanta CASA this year.
Volunteers are trained to lend support from a 360 model, meaning they gather information from sources like foster families, physicians, and educators for children in the foster care system.
The volunteers serve as non-biased parties in Fulton County juvenile court, appearing alongside the child to report their findings and recommendations to a judge. Cooper said the goal is to establish a level of permanency for the child.
Volunteers suggest “whether, for example, the kid is reunified with a guardian or parental figure, or whether the kid is adopted or continues along with their foster family” Cooper said.
Volunteers must be 21 years old and pass an extensive background check. They attend a thorough training program for six weeks, which concludes in being sworn in by a judge of the Fulton County juvenile court system. The commitment is typically 12 to 18 months.
Volunteers come from many different walks of life, Cooper said. Some are retired, attorneys, stay-at-home parents, or educators. There’s no prerequisite as to background or profession. Most CASA volunteers are women with college degrees, but Cooper pointed out that volunteers include men and women, and while some have a GED, others have multiple advanced degrees.
The national CASA organization started in 1977 by Judge David W. Soukop in Seattle, WA. The national CASA organization has affiliates in 49 of 50 states.
“[Soukop] recognized that judges lacked critical insight into the lives of these vulnerable kids. He mobilized volunteers to be able to gather facts and represent the kids’ best interests without inundating the attorneys and the other workers,” Cooper said.
Atlanta CASA was founded in 1995 by Judge Glenda Hatchett to bring aid to the children being represented by overworked attorneys and case workers at the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).
Today, all of Georgia’s 159 counties are represented by a total of 47 affiliate CASA offices. Each CASA affiliate is independently run and operated, but they all have the same goal: to ensure children have a voice in court.
With the launch of a yearlong fundraising campaign, “Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future,” Atlanta CASA hopes to raise $75,000 toward volunteer recruitment. The organization will honor Hatchett at a gala event later this year to bring together community and elected leaders, corporate partners, and advocates.
“This campaign is about recognizing the incredible impact of our volunteers, partners, and donors — while paving the way for even greater support for these children in the years to come,” Cooper said.
Atlanta CASA receives grants, private funding, and state and federal funding, although some federal funding has been retracted since President Donald Trump’s took office. When the national organization lost a grant in late April, Atlanta CASA received only 30 to 35 percent of what was expected, according to Cooper.
“The funds were earmarked for our recruitment and community engagement, and so obviously, without being able to recruit or engage in community, we can’t get more CASA volunteers, which means that we can’t support the mission of the organization,” she said. “We had to pivot … we took away from several areas to ensure that the recruitment and community engagement did not actually suffer.”
Cooper emphasized that being at the helm of Atlanta CASA as it celebrates 30 is “about just building more relationships [or] creating more partnerships.”
“It’s about driving our impact in the community, the support of our children, and helping to prepare Atlanta CASA for the next chapter of the organization.”
