Start the New Year right by advocating for at-risk children in juvenile court. CASA for Lancaster County (casa4lancaster.org)is seeking new volunteers, with the training sessions beginning Jan. 20. This is a six-week course meeting Tuesday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. All sessions will be held at CASA for Lancaster County, 1141 H St., Suite C, on the third floor.
CASA volunteers are trained community advocates assigned to abused and neglected children in juvenile court through no fault of their own. Volunteers have a court order granting access to the child and relevant records. This allows them to gather information, assess the child’s needs, and make informed recommendations. Volunteers accomplish this by getting to know the children, interviewing interested parties, and reviewing records and documents.
CASA volunteers communicate the child’s needs and wishes to the judge, along with their recommendations for services or next steps. They are required to complete approximately 30hours of pre-service training and 12 hours of in-service (continuing education) annually. Each volunteer is supervised by a CASA staff member.
In 2025, CASA advocated for 291 children, trained 38 new volunteers, and had 114 volunteers assigned to children. To learn more about volunteering or CASA for Lancaster County, go to casa4lancaster.org/advocate-for-children.