Sunflower CASA Project
Court-Appointed Special Advocates are volunteers from many different backgrounds who give their time to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system. Our program is based on the principle that each child deserves a safe, permanent, nurturing home where they can thrive. Our volunteers are the difference between abuse and hope.
Current CASA News
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Interested in becoming a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer? Visit the "Join Our Team" section of our site to learn more or contact us for additional information. Our next training session will begin with an orientation session at 6 pm on Monday, February 13, 2012. Training will continue on Tuesday evenings from 6-9 pm through Tuesday, April 17, 2012. There will be no training on Tuesday, March 20th due to K-State's spring break.
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Save the date! Cycle CASA 2012 is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, 2012. Visit the fundraisers section of our site to learn more!
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In 2011 Sunflower CASA Project volunteers advocated for and served 160 children who had been abused and neglected in Riley, Clay, and Pottawatomie counties. Click here to read our 2011 Highlights.
The History of CASA
The CASA movement began in 1977 when Judge David Soukup of Seattle, Washington, conceived of the idea of trained community volunteers advocating for abused and neglected children. Judge Soukup felt he did not have sufficient information to make informed decisions in cases involving children. From his vision, CASA has spread across the country. There are now over 900 CASA programs nationwide with over 70,000 child advocates! Since its inception in 1977, CASA volunteers have advocated from more than 1,000,000 abused and neglected children.
The first CASA program in Kansas was developed in 1981 in Wichita, KS. In 1988 Sunflower CASA Project began in Riley county. Our program then branched out to Clay county in 1991 serving all of the 21st Judicial district. Then in 2001 we expanded again to Pottawatomie county, a member of the 2nd Judicial district.
