The Children We Serve:
Each year, hundreds of children in Lubbock and the 5 surrounding countuies are confirmed victims of child abuse and neglect. These children have experienced terrible trauma, and their lives are turned upside down. Child Protective Services takes legal responsibility for them, and may place them in a foster home or other facility. Siblings are often split up into different places due to not enough foster homes. Children are rarely able to stay in their own schools, day cares, or communities. Everything they have known is gone. Through no fault of their own, these children have become a part of an overburdened child welfare system. They deserve a voice in the courtroom. They need a CASA volunteer!
Our Volunteers:
CASA of the South Plains has over 200 active volunteers who come from all walks of life. They span all age ranges. Some are just beginning in the workforce, and others are retired. Over half our volunteers work full-time and have families. Some have backgrounds in the criminal justice system, social work, or child welfare. Other volunteers have no such experience at all.
Mission
CASA of the South Plains inspires, educates, and empowers solution-minded community members who are committed to supporting the best interest of children in the foster care system.
Volunteer advocates create connections and promote nurturing relationships for the child and family, encouraging hope and healing.
Through court appointment and collaborative efforts, volunteer advocates share informed recommendations for the well-being of the child.
History
CASA began in 1977 when a judge in Seattle decided he was uneasy about making quick decisions that would affect children for the rest of their lives. The judge launched a program to train and appoint community volunteers to research the cases of foster children who had been removed from their homes for various reasons. CASA volunteers serve a foster child in need as a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). That's a fancy name for an official court role of looking out for the child's "best interests". Today, there are nearly 1,000 CASA and guardian ad litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Local concerned community members saw there was a need for CASA. They worked tirelessly to educate our community on the importance of the work CASA volunteers do. A Lubbock County Judge first appointed a CASA volunteer to serve as an abused child's advocate in October 1993. Since that time, more than 5,000 children have been provided more than 1,000 advocates.
In December 2000, CASA of Lubbock began expansion efforts into the newly created "South Plains Cluster Court", thus calling for the name change, CASA of the South Plains, Inc. With the assistance of Senator Robert Duncan, the Honorable Kelly Moore, and Texas CASA, we were able to secure funding through the governor's office to expand into the new court. Gradually, our expansion has grown to our current standings of recruiting Advocates in Cochran, Hale, Hockley, Terry, and Yoakum Counties to serve children whose cases are in the courts in each of those counties.
Since 1995, our program has grown from two employees to over 20 full-time staff members and over 200 Active CASA Volunteers. We are governed by a board of directors representing a diverse population of our community, with representation from six counties in the area.
