Our History

CASA began in 1977 by a Seattle Superior Court Judge, David Soukup. Judge Soukup was concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information and conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom.

What began with 50 citizen volunteers now has more than 75,000 advocates serving in 951 state and local programs nationwide.


88 out of 92 counties in Indiana now have a CASA program. Indiana is 2nd in the nation for the number of CASA programs existing in a state.


Warrick County CASA received certification with the Indiana Supreme Court Office of GAL/CASA. Advocates were immediately recruited, trained and sworn in as officers of the court in July 2008, officially launching the Warrick County CASA program.


In 2023, Warrick County CASA served over 200 kids right here in our community!

The Role of a CASA

A CASA is a trained volunteer sworn in by the court to represent the best interests of children who have been abused and/or neglected and have active CHINS (child in need of services) cases in the court system. The volunteer investigates the child’s circumstances, provides fact-based information to the courts through writing reports, and makes recommendations to the courts while becoming a source of support for the child.
A CASA’s ultimate goal is to move a child out of temporary placement – usually within the foster care system – into a safe and permanent home. This could mean a return to the parent’s care, adoption, the appointment of a legal guardian, or some other permanent living arrangement that satisfies the court and meets the child’s needs. 

Our Mission

The Warrick County Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) Program is a program that recruits, screens, and trains volunteer child advocates to work in the court system in collaboration with other key agencies, legal counsel, and community resources to represent the best interests of children in juvenile court proceedings. CASA advocates make recommendations regarding appropriate protective and rehabilitative services necessary to ensure a safe and permanent home for every child adjudicated as a child in need of services within the county.