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How We Help

San Luis Obispo CASA volunteers are voices for abused and neglected children in court. CASA volunteers are trained and supervised to gather information and make recommendations that help judges decide the best outcome for children in foster care.
Children served by San Luis Obispo County CASA come from your community–they live in our neighborhoods, play on our teams, attend our churches. There are hundreds of these children in our county. Children who have done nothing wrong but were let down by someone they should have been able to count on to protect them. It is a violation of the most basic of trust.

Who helps this child rebuild trust? The CASA volunteer.

The CASA volunteer accepts responsibility for one child (or sibling group) and becomes that child’s voice in the system. More importantly, they are the child’s friend. The CASA volunteer is unique–working in the system without being from the system. In this volunteer role, the CASA volunteer visits the child(ren) regularly and also talks to the parents, teachers, caseworkers, doctors, and therapists to learn all perspectives and share an unbiased view of the child’s situation with the judge. CASA volunteers help kids through the system safely, quickly, and more effectively. Children with a CASA volunteer do better in school and are more likely to find a safe, permanent home.

All too often, the CASA volunteer is the only constant adult in the child’s life during a frightening, uncertain time of seemingly endless changes. Few volunteer roles have such a critical and immediate impact on the life of a child, as that of a CASA volunteer.

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Child Abuse in our Community

CASA of San Luis Obispo County advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children within the court system. CASA recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers who advocate for this vulnerable population with the goal of ensuring that each and every child grows up in a safe, nurturing, and permanent home.

Substantiated Cases of Child Abuse
and Neglect, by Age

Definition: Percentage of substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect, by age (e.g., in 2015, 13.4%, of substantiated cases of abuse and neglect in California concerned children ages 1-2). Data Source: Webster, D .. et al. California Child Welfare Indicators Project Reports, U.C. Berkeley Center for Social Services Research (Jun. 2016). Footnote: A child is counted only once (per year, per county). LNE (Low Number Event) refers to data that have been suppressed because there were fewer than 120 substantiated cases of child abuse.

1 %
Under 1
1 %
Ages 1-2
1 %
Ages 3-5
1 %
Ages 6-10
1 %
Ages 11-15
1 %
Ages 16-17
Figures like these make it clear why CASA is so vital to the lives of our community’s most vulnerable children. In addition to the initial trauma of their abuse, these children often face a life of impermanence and disruption as they are shuffled from foster home to foster home. A CASA volunteer is often the only adult in their lives who is reliable, who listens to their concerns and who is able to speak up on their behalf and make sure that the best interest of the child are served.

Make a Difference in the Life of a Child

Give the gift of a voice for an abused or neglected child. 100% of your gift will stay in San Luis Obispo County. Help give a voice to an abused and neglected child by becoming a volunteer in our community. Thank you for supporting CASA!

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