For nearly 25 years, CASA of Cook County has been speaking up in court for abused and neglected, ensuring they have safe, permanent homes.

CASA of Cook County’s vision is to protect abused and neglected children by providing them a voice in court, a safe and permanent home, and an opportunity to grow, learn and thrive. Through caring and dedicated volunteers, CASA of Cook County advocates for all children in need, generates awareness of their plight, and cultivates strong partnerships with individuals and organizations committed to bettering the lives of abused and neglected children. We do this with integrity, compassion and devotion to our children.

Our dedicated volunteer Advocates help children by

*volunteering 10 hours each month and visiting children in their homes
*attending court and providing judges with reports about children, including the children’s wishes
*ensuring that children receive important therapy so that they can become the happy children they deserve to be
*breaking the cycle of child abuse by ensuring that children live in a safe, permanent and loving home

On any given day, 500,000 children in the US are living in foster care because they cannot live safely at home. But only half of these kids have someone who speaks out just for them—a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA volunteer.

CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to be the independent eyes and ears of the court, watching over and advocating for a child until the child is placed in a safe, permanent home.

The National CASA Association links a network of 954 local CASA programs in 49 states. Last year, 59,000 CASA volunteers served 240,000 children and youth living in foster care, getting them into safe, permanent homes sooner and saving taxpayers an estimated $582 billion. It’s a huge return on a very modest investment—the cost to give a kid a CASA volunteer in Cook County is just $1200 a year.