WHY WE NEED TO SUPPORT NEVADA’S MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN
The Problem: An Overwhelmed System
- The child welfare system is in a state of crisis, due in part to the devastating opioid epidemic.
- 5,274 documented abused and neglected children in Nevada.
- More than 4,400 children are in Nevada's foster care system on any given day.
- Children spend an average of 13.2 months in care.
The Challenge: Not Enough Resources
- 8 local CASA programs currently serve children in 10 of the 17 Nevada counties.
- 630 CASA Advocates speak up for 1,223 of Nevada’s abused and neglected children.
- 4,051 of Nevada’s abused and neglected children still need a CASA advocate.
- NRS 432B.500 mandates a GAL/CASA for each abused and neglected child but there is no state funding to support this mandate - Nevada is one of only six states in the nation that receives no state funding to support its mandate to serve such children.
Children with Court Appointed Special Advocates have better odds of succeeding. A child with a CASA volunteer:
- Will spend 4 to 6 months less time in foster care
- Will receive more needed services such as counseling and tutoring
- Is more likely to stay in school and go on to graduate
- Is half as likely to re-enter the foster care system
- Is more like to find a safe, loving, and permanent home
Sources: DCFS 2019 Annual Services Progress Report, National CASA Association, Adoption Network, Fostering Court Improvement Website
How Can You Help? Donate Now!
Tens of thousands of children live in foster homes without a Court Appointed Special Advocate® (CASA). Imagine that child showing up to court and not knowing a soul. Worse yet, imagine how that child doesn’t know about court or how to defend himself while seeing complete strangers decide his future.
CASA volunteers know the children they serve, their story and unique circumstances and they have their best interests in mind. Having a CASA by a child’s side can be the difference between despair and hope. Your donation today helps the cost of CASA advocacy for a child by finding a safe, loving and permanent home for that child to live in.
