Children who have experienced abuse or neglect face many unknowns. Courtrooms. Foster Care. New schools. A revolving door of well-meaning professionals. - All while dealing with the trauma of abuse or neglect.
At CASA of Jefferson & Gilpin Counties, we make sure children don’t face the dependency court and foster care systems alone.
CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for children’s best interests. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is in a safe, permanent home. We serve children from birth through the age of 21. Volunteers work with legal and child welfare professionals, educators and service providers to ensure that judges have all the information they need to make the most informed decisions for each child.
Our highly-trained Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers get to know each child. CASA volunteers ensure each child’s needs remain a priority in an overburdened child welfare system. They ensure the child is safe, has the shortest possible road to a permanent home and the opportunity to thrive. For many foster youth, their CASA volunteer is the one consistent person in their life.
District Court Judge Ann Gail Meinster states: "I have the privilege of working with many CASA volunteers. CASA Jeffco/Gilpin is an amazing organization that performs a critical community service for the most vulnerable children in the 1st Judicial District. CASA volunteers partner with other professionals working on cases. They provide a service that supplements the work of Guardians ad litem and caseworkers. They provide accurate, thoughtful and independent reporting to other parties to the case and the Court. CASA volunteers can sometimes be the one person who sees safety issues that are missed by others. I find the Program and its volunteers to be invaluable. My wish is to assign a CASA volunteer to every case of child abuse."
The mission at CASA Jeffco/Gilpin is to recruit, train and manage volunteers who serve as independent lay advocates for children who are victims of neglect and physical and/or sexual abuse. Our hope is that all children will have a CASA volunteer as someone to pay attention, someone to give the child a voice, someone to care.
CASA came from a judges idea - Inspiration came to Seattle juvenile court judge David W. Soukup in 1976. Judge Soukup had insufficient information to make a life-changing decision for a 3-year-old girl who had suffered from child abuse.
That’s where the idea came from: These children, who had experienced abuse or neglect, needed trained volunteers speaking up in the courtroom for their best interests. The idea quickly spread. By 1982, National CASA had formed, and in 1990 the U.S. Congress authorized its expansion by passing the Victims of Child Abuse Act so that a “court-appointed special advocate shall be made available to every victim of child abuse or neglect in the United States that needs such an advocate.”
When you become a CASA volunteer you are joining over 95,000 other CASA volunteers all over the nation! CASA Jeffco/Gilpin is just ONE of 948 programs in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Since it’s inception, CASA volunteers have served over 1 MILLION children nationwide.
CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties (CASA Jeffco/Gilpin) was incorporated in July 2000 in response to the need to improve the representation of abused and neglected children in the 1st Judicial District of Colorado. Our first class of nine volunteers was sworn in February 2001 and 51 children were served that year. Today, we have over 300 active volunteers and have served over 3,500 child abuse victims.
Organization name
CASA of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties
other names
CASA Jeffco/Gilpin
2000
Tax id (EIN)
84-1530736
Category
Human Services, Youth Development
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Colorado State Tax Credits
Colorado Child Care Credit
Address
100 Jefferson County Pkwy Suite 2505Jefferson County, CO, US
Gilpin County, CO, US