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WHEREAS, the mission of the National CASA Association is to speak for the
best interests of abused and neglected children in court; and
WHEREAS, the primary focus of National CASA, and all of the training,
technical assistance and financial support provided by National CASA,
involve volunteer advocacy in child protection abuse and neglect cases in
the juvenile courts, and
WHEREAS, some National CASA member programs, with the highest motives of
commitment to children in need, have provided volunteer child advocacy in
private child custody disputes in other courts; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary and desirable that National CASA establish a policy
regarding the use of CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers in other child
custody proceedings;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
(1) The Board of Directors of National CASA hereby reaffirms that the
primary role of CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers is to speak for
the best interests of abused and neglected children in juvenile court
child protection proceedings; and (2) Current National CASA funding
for training and technical assistance, and all presently available
federal funding of National CASA, will be devoted exclusively to
advocacy for children in child protection abuse and neglect cases in
juvenile courts; and (3) Once a National CASA member program has
evaluated its ability to fulfill the primary CASA mission, that program
is not prohibited from choosing to provide child advocacy in private
child custody disputes where there are issues of abuse or neglect. As a
condition of affiliation with National CASA, such programs must
demonstrate that volunteers doing this work are receiving supervision,
the core CASA training, and additional training in order to handle these
cases with the equivalent level of expertise expected of CASA and
guardian ad litem volunteers in child protection abuse and neglect cases
in juvenile court.
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