Mission Statement:  The mission of the Alaska CASA Program is to recruit, train, supervise and support quality volunteers who reflect the diversity of Alaska’s population. CASA volunteers speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courts, and advocate for each child to have a safe permanent home.  

Alaska has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect in our country. At any given time over 2000 Alaska children are living in foster care, and the professionals in the child welfare system often have very high caseloads. In contrast, CASA volunteers are assigned one or two cases and are able to give the cases the attention they need. National studies have shown that when a CASA is assigned to a case, the case is resolved in a shorter period of time and that CASA volunteers perform as well as trained attorneys in the child advocate role. A local survey conducted in April 1999 asked professionals (judges, social workers, attorneys, foster parents) their opinion of CASA volunteers. The overwhelming response was that CASA volunteers make a real difference in their cases and that there was a definite need for more CASA volunteers. In 2008 there were 172 CASA volunteers in Alaska, representing the best interests of 459 children in Anchorage, Mat-Su Valley, Juneau, and Fairbanks.  

Website:   http://www.alaskacasa.org/