Mission Statement
Our highly trained community volunteers passionately support the overall well-being and best interests of children in the foster care system and effectively collaborate with their families and other support systems.
Vision
We aspire to be a community leader and an exceptional non-profit organization with all the necessary resources to fiercely advocate for every child in the foster care system from our service area.
History
CASA in the Heart of Texas is part of a national volunteer movement that began in 1977 when Judge David Soukup in Seattle decided he needed to know more about the children whose lives were in his hands. His solution was to ask community volunteers to act as a “voice in court” for abused and neglected children. These Court Appointed Special Advocate® (CASAs) provided him with the detailed information he needed to safeguard the children’s best interests and ensure that they were placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible. The program was so successful that it was copied around the nation.
The first CASA program established in Texas was Dallas CASA in 1980. Today, the CASA movement has evolved into one of the largest volunteer organizations in the country with over 1000 CASA programs nationwide. In Texas, there are 72 local CASA programs with more than 11,000 volunteers serving more than 30,000 foster children in 219 counties.
CASA in the Heart of Texas is a member of the National and Texas CASA Associations. CASA in the Heart of Texas is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors.
