Word of Thanks: CASA in Colorado

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. A single nurturing relationship with a supporting adult can profoundly impact a child who has endured abuse or neglect. 

CASA volunteers play a crucial role by connecting children with healing resources while strengthening families to help prevent abuse and neglect.

You can help CASA volunteers play a role in Colorado to help "Change a Child's Story." 

A donation to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) goes directly back to the youth in your community impacted by trauma, abuse, and neglect. 

Any donation will help CASA recruit, train, and support CASA volunteers who are serving our Colorado communities.  CASA serves youth in 46 Counties across Colorado.  

Here are a few other ways your donation can help:  

• Your donation will support the Youth Alliance Program in Jefferson County to provide housing and wrap around services for emancipating (aging out) foster youth.  
• Support Pueblo and Arapahoe Counties’ Safe Baby Courts, specialty courts with intensive advocacy to help support moms and families of substance exposed newborns.  
• Help start CASA in Alamosa and the San Luis Valley, one of the few regions in our state that doesn’t have a CASA program.   
• CASA is only able to serve 1/3 of the total children and youth in the state who need a CASA volunteer - 4,000 of the 13,000 children in open abuse and neglect cases.  We need more volunteers to close the gap, especially more male volunteers and Spanish speaking volunteers in Weld and Larimer Counties. 
• Support for a volunteer requires screening / interview / background check, 30 hours of preservice training, and also ongoing case support, especially in the Western Slope Mountain communities where volunteers can drive for hours one-way to see children and attend court.    
• On average, only 20% of foster youth graduate high school.  Help CASA increase this while providing a 16-session life skills program for aging out foster youth incentivizing high school graduation with monetary stipend.  In Southern Colorado, the Fostering Futures program has an 87% graduation rate for foster youth involved!100% of your donation will go directly to local CASA programs serving children and youth in Colorado. No portion of the donation will be retained for administrative fees.