Caja4Kids.org
Title
Welcome
Description
In 1974, concerned about the staggering numbers of children in foster care, the US Congress passed the "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act," which provided financial assistance to states for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. The legislation included a requirement for that assistance: mandatory appointment of a guardian ad litem (GAL) to represent the abused or neglected child's best interest during the judicial proceeding. An attorney was generally appointed to fill this role.
In 1976, Judge David W. Soukup of Seattle, Washington, began to look for alternative ways to implement the law and ensure that the child's best interests would be consistently represented. He found that few court-appointed attorneys had the time or training to carry on the comprehensive, time-consuming investigations that were sometimes required. Judge Soukup decided to utilize trained community volunteers who agreed to make a long-term commitment to each child for whom they would serve as guardians ad litem. This successful program became the pilot for similar programs all over the country.
The Madison County program was started by Judge Hartwell Lutz in 1987 after he attended a judicial conference where the CASA concept was presented. He decided to bring the idea home to Madison County.
