CASA of McHenry County is a member of:
National CASA Association
and
Illinois CASA Association

About CASA of McHenry County

Every day, abused and neglected children in our community are placed into temporary foster care because their parents cannot - or will not - take care of them. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of McHenry County gives these children a voice in court so they can grow up in safe, permanent homes where they can thrive. CASA volunteers make a life-long difference for children, one child at a time.

CASA of McHenry County provides trained volunteers to advocate for child victims of abuse and neglect in Juvenile Court and in the foster care system. CASA of McHenry County provides caring volunteers who make a life-long difference for children. These children have become involved in the Juvenile Court system as victims of abuse and neglect.

CASA currently advocates for nearly 80% of children involved in the Juvenile Abuse and Neglect Court in McHenry County.

CASA of McHenry County is a member of the National CASA Association and the Illinois CASA Association.


View CASA Board and Staff


Employment Opportunities

CASA INTERNSHIP

CASA continues to see students interested in pursuing an internship with CASA. For more information, contact the CASA office at 815-363-5920.

There are no paid job openings at this time



About National CASA Association

In 1977, a Seattle Judge conceived of the idea of volunteer advocates for abused and neglected children. Out of this idea, the first CASA program was created. Today there are more than 900 CASA programs nationwide with 54,000 volunteers serving over 250,000 abused and neglected children.

Volunteers are appointed by a judge and assigned to one case at a time, serving as an independent voice for abused and neglected children in court. Volunteers believe every child deserves to grow up in a safe and permanent home and they stay with a case until this goal is achieved.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR HIRED

CASA of McHenry County welcomes Jorie Siemens to the staff as Volunteer Coordinator. Jorie has been a CASA volunteer for a year and comes from a background of working with children in residential settings. She will be taking on the volunteer training and outreach aspects of CASA. Welcome Jorie!


CASA of McHenry County's Mission

...is to draw from community resources to provide well-trained volunteers who will advocate for abused and neglected children in our court system, provide needed information to the court, and help develop a more effective juvenile court process.


What does it take to be an Advocate?

Being a CASA volunteer does not require any special education or background, simply the desire to help abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes. The first steps are passing a background check and participating in a 40-hour training course. After successfully completing the course, the volunteer is assigned his first case. A volunteer's average time commitment to a case is approximately 10 hours per month. Volunteers are asked to stay with a case until it is closed, a year and a half on average.


Resources on Volunteering