History of the NCASAA African American Advisory Committee

Document Author: NCASAA Staff
Date Posted: 8/02

E-mail: The Committee

In 2000, nationally, 30% of the total number of children served by CASA/GAL programs were African American. The volunteer base for providing these services was 83% white, 11.6% African American and 5.4% of other ethnic groups. It is important to have a viable pool of African American volunteers and staff in CASA programs throughout the country from which to draw. It is also imperative that African Americans within the CASA/GAL movement have the opportunity to provide guidance and support to non-African American advocates who are serving African American children.

The need for African Americans to provide CASA/GAL support through volunteerism and staffing at CASA/GAL programs throughout our nation stems from the overarching issues that face African American children in the dependency system. A forum is needed to address the best methods for assisting CASA programs to meet the needs of African American children. To answer this need, the Diversity Committee of the National CASA Association formed two advisory committees. One, the African American Advisory Committee (AAAC) was formed in early 2001. The first in person meeting of the 12 member AAAC was held Minneapolis, MN in May, 2001.