[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E339]]



    HONORING ORGANIZATION COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT, COURT 
                   APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES (CASA)

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 13, 2001

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this 
opportunity to honor an organization in Northern Virginia that has made 
serving neglected and abused children its priority. Court Appointed 
Special Advocates has been serving the community for over a decade, and 
its dedication throughout our region is being rewarded at the 
Springfield Inter-Service Award Ceremony on March 14, 2001.
  Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, is a national 
organization dedicated to ensuring that the best interests of abused 
and neglected children are represented in court. It was started in 
Washington State in 1976 by King County Superior Court Presiding Judge 
David W. Soukop. The court found that before the formation of CASA, 
attorneys did not spend the necessary time and did not have the 
adequate training to provide the thorough investigation needed in these 
cases. Judge Soukop decided to recruit volunteers to do the required 
research and stay with the children as their court cases unfolded.
  There are programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 
the Virgin Islands. There are 25 CASA offices in Virginia, the largest 
of which is in Fairfax. The office in Fairfax was opened in 1989 and to 
date has helped over 3,000 children. With 150 volunteers, it is 
currently serving 400 children. Working with attorneys, school and 
medical officials, and social workers, CASA volunteers act on behalf of 
the children involved in cases so they do not become just another 
docket number.
  CASA volunteers must complete hours of training and are then sworn in 
by a judge. Before taking on a case, volunteers work hard to attain 
knowledge of the case by sitting in on a day of proceedings on that 
particular case. The dedication of these volunteers to the children 
they are asked to represent helps these children through very traumatic 
times. The first priority of CASA is to help children. They do not 
investigate the abuse; they only look into information about the child 
and the family. Their mandate is ``what is in the best interest of the 
child.''
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I wish the very best to CASA as it is 
honored at the Springfield Inter-Service Awards Banquet in Springfield, 
Virginia. The volunteers certainly have earned this recognition, and I 
call upon all of my colleagues to join me in applauding their 
remarkable achievement.

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