Illinois CASA Statistics
CASA stands for court appointed special advocate. A CASA is a trained, community volunteer who advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children who are involved with the child welfare system. CASA volunteers serve in child abuse and neglect cases, Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) cases and sometimes in adoption proceedings.
- In Illinois there are 31 non-profit CASA programs with nearly 2,500 volunteers who in FY 2019 advocated for the best interests of 5,758 child victims of abuse and neglect.
- 38% of children assigned a CASA achieved permanency compared to 25% permanency rate in DCFS’s 2018 CFSR report.
- No child assigned a CASA died and less than 0.5% re-entered foster care
- Our goal is to ensure every child has access to a CASA volunteer by 2025.
