Hosting provided by

History

All children need a safe and loving home. Unfortunately, some children are abused and neglected by their own parents or caregivers. When a court must intervene to help these children, someone should be there to tell their story and protect their future. That's where a CASA/GAL volunteer steps in.

CASA (court appointed special advocates/guardian ad litem) began in 1977 when Judge David Soukup from Seattle, WA felt frustrated in making critical decisions for children with no input from children and only limited information from others involved in their cases. Judge Soukup felt that committed volunteers from the community could be trained to become advocates for the abused and neglected children in the court system. Since that time, the CASA Program has grown to over 900 programs in all 50 states.

The Mahoning County CASA/GAL Program was founded in 1988 to provide a voice in court for the abused and neglected children in Mahoning County. Housed in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center, the program has recruited, screened, trained and monitored over 200 volunteers who became the voice of over 1200 children and advocated for their need for safe permanent placement. The mission of the Mahoning County CASA/GAL Program is to provide trained community volunteers to represent the best interests of abused, neglected and dependent children in the Juvenile Court, with the vision to provide a CASA/GAL volunteer for each and every abused and neglected child in Mahoning County who needs one.

The Mahoning County CASA/GAL Program operates under the guidelines and standards of the National CASA Association and the Ohio CASA/GAL Association. While these resources help in providing resources, guidance and training, each local CASA Program operates independently. The Mahoning County CASA/GAL Program is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and although the juvenile court generously donates office space within the Martin P. Joyce Justice Center to house the program, all other funding for the organization must be provided through foundations, corporations, grants, and individual donations.