In 1977, a judge in Seattle, Washington, established the first CASA program. He created a venue to train the community volunteers who advocated in court for abused and neglected children. This program was so successful that judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates.
In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act. Today more than 900 CASA program offices are in operation with trained women and men serving as CASA volunteers.
Our local CASA program began in 1990. Judge Robert Burner sought help from the Altrusa Club to establish an advocacy program for abused and neglected children. In 1992, eighteen individuals became the first volunteers of the CASA program in Kosciusko County.
In 1995, the agency receive non-profit status as a 501(c)3 agency and officially became CASA of Kosciusko County, Inc. In 2004, our local agency became one of 31 nation-wide CASA programs to receive certification from the National CASA organization. The CASA program was recertified in 2008.
CASA has had three Executive Directors. The first two Directors were Chuck and Anne Dorgan. In 1998, Sally Mahnken became the third Executive Director and presently fills the role.
Volunteers from local CASA programs in Indiana advocated for 13,169 abused and neglected children in 2007. Sadly, there were still more than 3,000 children on a waiting list for a CASA volunteer at the end of 2008 in Indiana and 16 children waiting for a volunteer from the CASA of Kosciusko County.
Right here in our community, the CASA of Kosciusko County supported volunteers to work with 188 children last year with many remarkable success stories. Forty-seven volunteer advocates served these vulnerable children in 2008.
