There’s no place like hope.
“CASA Volunteers play a unique role on behalf of some of our most vulnerable children. Their commitment, vigilance, and persistence offer hope where there has been little.” -Marian Wright Edelman, Founder of the Children’s Defense Fund
CASA Best-Interest Advocacy
CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for children’s best interests. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is in a safe, permanent home. We serve children from birth through 18 years of age.
Volunteers work with legal and child welfare professionals, educators, and service providers to ensure that judges have all the information they need to make the most well-informed decisions for each child.
Our best-interest advocacy is driven by the guiding principle that children grow and develop best with their family of origin if that can be safely achieved. Most of the children we work with are in foster care, but some are with their families of origin. And, most children who leave foster care do so to return to their families.
We Are A Strong Team
In 1976 a Seattle juvenile court judge David W. Soukup recognized he had insufficient information to make a life-changing decision for a 3-year-old girl who had suffered from child abuse.
“These children, who had experienced abuse or neglect, needed trained volunteers speaking up in the courtroom for their best interests.”
Kittitas County’s CASA program began in 1985 under the leadership of Kittitas County Superior Court Judge JoAnne Alumbaugh.
In many counties, the CASA program is a part of the county’s juvenile court. Kittitas County’s CASA program is truly independent of the court, being managed and administered by an independent not-for-profit agency.
Our Team
Sandra Bankston
Executive Director
Sandra Martinez
Communications & develompent
Jamie Samuelson
Training/advocate coordinator
Nicole Wachsmith
advocate coordinator
Debbie Schmit
casa liason
Our Board of Directors
Josh Bender
Susan Grindle
Debbie Cernick
Laurel Gorham
Jeff Myers
Steve DuPont
Holly Hutchinson
Chris Bridger