What is CASA?

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County is a local nonprofit that recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers to serve as advocates for children who have experienced abuse or neglect throughout Santa Barbara County.

A CASA volunteer gets to know the child and the child’s situation. The volunteer sees the child every week, and regularly talks to the child’s teachers, parents, other family members, social workers, lawyer, and often therapists, in order to get a clear picture of what is going on—and then the volunteer advocates for that child’s best interests.

Children with a CASA volunteer have access to more services, and they are more likely to thrive. CASA volunteers make a real and lasting difference in the lives of the most vulnerable children in our community.

Visit sbcasa.org to learn more

What is Foster Care?

What the foster care system is: a temporary arrangement in which adults provide for the care of a child or children whose birth parent is unable to care for them.

Foster care is not where juvenile delinquents go. It is where children go when their parents cannot, for a variety of reasons, care for them. Foster care can be informal or arranged through the courts or a social service agency. The goal for a child in the foster care system is usually reunification with the birth family, but may be changed to adoption when this is seen as in the child’s best interest. While foster care is temporary, adoption is permanent.

Visit www.ifoster.org/how-does-the-foster-care-system-work to learn more