Giving New Hampshire's Abused Children a Voice in Court -- CASA volunteers advocate in New Hampshire's courts for the best interests of abused and neglected children, so they can grow up in safe, permanent homes.

Description:
CASA of NH is a private, statewide, not-for-profit organization committed to speaking for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the NH courts. CASA recruits, trains and supervises volunteers who advocate for these children. The CASA program's primary goal is to ensure that each and every victimized child in the state has a dedicated CASA/GAL speaking for him or her.

When a family is involved in the Child Protection and Juvenile Justice Systems because their child has been abused and/or neglected, CASA is appointed as Guardian ad Litem ("guardian of the case") for the child by the court. Our job is to gather information about the family and child and report back to the judge. This helps the judge make informed decisions about the child's future. Our ultimate mission is to help ensure that a child is safe and in a permanent home (biological or adoptive) as quickly as possible.

History:
Ten years after CASA's national inception, Marcia Sink of Manchester, NH recognized a similar need in her own state. With the endorsement of the national organization, the guardian ad litem program was replicated in New Hampshire and in 1989, CASA of NH was incorporated as a private nonprofit. Ten volunteers launched the initiative in two District Courts. Today, CASA of NH is available to all District and Family Courts. In addition, CASA has recently been requested to remain on cases as they proceed through termination of parental rights (TPR) cases in the Probate Courts and to the NH Supreme Court if the case is appealed to that level. CASA currently advocates for approximately 1,000 child victims throughout the state and has advocated for nearly 5,000 children on over 3,000 cases to date. To address this growth, CASA has expanded the organization to support a larger staff and maintains five regional offices - Keene, Lancaster, Manchester, Plymouth, and Dover. Under Ms. Sink's direction, CASA of NH has become a key player in the state's child protection system and has earned the respect of the state's judiciary as demonstrated in that the state's child welfare statute declares CASA/GAL volunteers to be full parties in cases of abuse and neglect. CASA of NH works diligently to construct its budget from a diversified funding base. Approximately a third comes from state and federal dollars (e.g., Victims of Crime Act or VOCA); but two thirds must be raised each year from private and public grants, donations, fundraising events and projects, etc.

CASA of NH has now also initiated an auxiliary organization called Friends of CASA for those citizens who wish to help victimized children in a meaningful way, but choose not to perform the court advocacy. Friends of CASA serve in myriad ways from providing clerical support to the offices to helping with fundraising and committee work to informally spreading the word about CASA's mission and vision for NH's children. Volunteer inquiries are always welcomed, both for GAL work and for Friends of CASA.

Contact people:

Diane Valladares, Training & Recruitment Coordinator, (phone), (email) General Mailbox, (phone), (email) , (email)

Address:

P.O. Box 1327 Manchester, NH 03105-1327

Miscellaneous Information

Name of Executive Director (or equivalent) if not listed above:
	Marcia Sink
Type of organization
	Nonprofit 501(c)3
Is your organization a Health and Human Service agency?
	No