The mission of CASA of East Tennessee (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is to improve the lives of abused and neglected children through trained volunteers who advocate for a safe, permanent, loving home. CASA provides highly trained citizen volunteers to advocate for children who come under the protection of juvenile court. The goal of our intervention is to represent the best interests of the child and shorten their stay in a foster home. The agency started in 1987 in Knox and Hamblen Counties and expanded in 1993 to include Blount and Sevier counties. In 2009, we expanded our program to Jefferson County.

The local Courts consider CASA to be an effective program to break the cycle of abuse and neglect in the community. The volunteers of the agency have been recognized for the high quality of their advocacy and their investigations that bring information about a child to the courts. Our advocates work to ensure that the most helpless and vulnerable of our children have the medical, mental health, and social services they need and do not fall through the cracks in the child welfare system. They conduct investigations and interviews that the courts do not have the resources to conduct, serve as a trusted friend to the child, and expedite the child’s placement in a safe and loving home. Without CASA volunteers, court proceedings are often postponed needlessly because investigations are not complete, and important details that are critical to the child’s healing and well-being can be overlooked.

The number of substantiated child abuse cases increased by more than 100% between 2005 and 2007 (the most recently published statistics) in the counties we serve. Last year we served more than 300 children—one child at a time. This represents about 25% of the children in the local child welfare system who need an advocate. Our services are not duplicated by any other agency or organization; therefore, this means that 75% of abused children in our community do not have an advocate dedicated exclusively to their needs.