Public Service Announcement Released 1/19/17 – CASA for the Highland Lakes Area Receives National Certification Recognizing the Quality of Its Work for Abused and Neglected Children
CASA for the Highland Lakes Area of Blanco, Burnet, Lampasas, Llano and San Saba Counties has just been awarded certification by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. This certification recognizes that CASA for the Highland Lakes Area is in compliance with National CASA’s high standards for quality child advocacy.
According to Tara Perry, Chief Executive Officer of the National CASA Association, “The National CASA quality assurance process is very rigorous, and reflects our commitment to ensure every child served has a powerful volunteer advocate working on their behalf and a strong program supporting their work. This certification says CASA for the Highland Lakes Area has demonstrated to us the capacity to provide excellent advocacy to the abused and neglected children within their community.”
CASA for the Highland Lakes Area was started in October of 1991 as CASA of Burnet County, but grew over the years to serve the 5 counties that it serves today. Currently CASA for the Highland Lakes Area serves over 250 child victims of abuse and neglect from this area with the help of nearly 80 active volunteers. For more information, contact Kristen Harris at 325-388-3440.
About the National CASA Association
In 1976, concerned over making decisions about abused and neglected children’s lives without sufficient information, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court, helping to ensure that they will live in a safe and loving environment. So successful was this Seattle program, that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act. Today, there are more than 950 National CASA member programs across the country, with more than 70,000 men and women serving as CASA volunteers.
