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The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program was created in 1977 in Seattle, Washington by Judge David W. Soukup, who was overseeing cases where a child or children were removed from their homes and placed in the state's custody because of abuse or neglect. While attorney "guardian ad litems" were appointed to these children, they were generally too busy to conduct in-depth investigation that was required. Social workers responsible for the cases were too often already spread too thin to devote extensive time to each child's case. As a result, Judge Soukup recruited and trained community volunteers to step into the courtroom on the children's behalf, with the ability to focus solely on one child's best interest. They became known as Court Appointed Special Advocates, and were the foundation to what later became known as National CASA.
Voices for Children, Inc. is a result of Judge
Soukop's early work, the spread of CASA
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