Mission Statement
CASA 69, Inc. (Court Appointed Special Advocate) believes that a child’s right to a safe, permanent home should be acted on by the court in a sensitive, expedient manner. CASA 69, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides trained community volunteers to represent the child’s best interest in the court. CASA 69, Inc. serves abused and neglected children from the 69th Judicial District (Dallam, Hartley, Sherman, and Moore Counties).
Vision
A safe, permanent, loving home for every child.
History
CASA 69 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.
In 1985, District Judge Bill Sheehan, District Judge for the 69th Judicial District (1978-1989), learned of the CASA program at a Juvenile Justice seminar. He felt that a CASA volunteer’s input could help him make quality decisions regarding the future of children that were involved in the court system because of abuse or neglect. Due to Judge Sheehan’s organizational efforts and determination, CASA 69, Inc. received its first case in 1986 and became the first rural CASA program in the United States.
CASA 69, Inc. has continued to serve abused and neglected children in the 69th Judicial District (Dallam, Hartley, Moore, and Sherman Counties) for 25 years, providing trained community volunteers for every child who was assigned to the program through the court.
CASA 69 is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors.
CASA 69 is a member of the National and Texas CASA Associations. There are over 1,000 CASA programs nationwide and 71 CASA programs in the state of Texas.