Who We are
Our Mission
CASA of the Coastal Bend’s mission is to advocate for the best interest of children in Nueces and Aransas County foster care.
Our trained Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) gather information and evaluate the needs of the children. These volunteers work collaboratively with families and other associated professionals to provide valuable information to the judge. A CASA volunteer is a consistent presence in a child’s life during the process of the case.
In 1977, a Seattle juvenile court judge concerned about making drastic decisions for children and their families in the child welfare system with insufficient information conceived the idea of appointing citizen volunteers to advocate for the best interests of these children in court, at school and in the community. From that first program has grown a network of nearly 1,000 CASA and guardian ad litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
In 1991, CASA of Nueces County was established. Ten years later, CASA expanded to cover Aransas county to become CASA of the Coastal Bend. There are currently 128 volunteers that serve 449 children in care. Our vision is a community where every child's voice is heard in court through a CASA volunteer.