Volunteer advocacy for children in court.

Family Law CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) serves as the voice of children in court when their parents are involved in contested paternity, divorce, and third party custody cases. We work to ensure a safe, nurturing environment for children in high-risk custody cases in King County. The children we serve are from low-to-moderate-income homes, and more than half are six years old or younger. Their cases often involve allegations of domestic violence, substance abuse and mental illness.

Our mission is to recruit, screen, train, supervise and support community volunteers who are appointed to investigate custody and visitation disputes in order to give children a voice in court. These special individuals thoroughly and objectively research the children’s family and home lives, then generate written reports to the court. These reports provide judges and commissioners with crucial information as they try to sort through allegations and decide on a custody arrangement that will be in the best interest of the child.

Family Law CASA began taking cases in the summer of 2003. The organization is assigned to approximately 100 cases per year, and has served more than 400 children since its inception. Our active volunteer currently consists of 168 fully trained CASAs.

There are many ways that you can support this important work – become a CASA volunteer, make a donation, attend a fundraising event. Working together, we can give children a voice in court.