WHEREAS, All children have the right to a home with loving people to care for them, but each year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of children are abused, neglected, or abandoned by their families. These children are removed from their homes, placed in foster care or institutions, and eventually may end up as wards of the court; and

WHEREAS, A judge has the power to decide the future for these children and whether they should remain in foster care, be reunited with parents, or adopted, but in many cases, the children become victims for a second time, lost in an overburdened child welfare system that cannot pay close attention to each child; and

WHEREAS, CASA Appreciation Day recognizes the important role played by Court Appointed Special Advocate for children (CASA) volunteers. These trained community volunteers are appointed by a judge as officers of the court to speak up for children in juvenile court and to help humanize for these children the often frightening and confusing child welfare and legal systems; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 72,690 of California’s children are living in foster care because they have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. In 2022, 8,638 CASA volunteers supported 12,022 foster children in California by contributing a total of 409,495 hours. These CASA volunteers play an important role in their lives by getting to know each child and letting the judge and others in the child welfare system understand the child’s perspective and needs; and

WHEREAS, The CASA mission is to ensure consistency and support for children in the foster care system through the use of volunteer advocates advancing the best interests of each child; and

WHEREAS, The CASA vision is one where every Californian child in need is appointed a CASA volunteer to champion that child without compromise, in court, in school, and in the community, putting them on the path to a safe and permanent home; now, therefore, be it