National CASA
The Court Appointed Special Advocate program was first established in 1977 by a Seattle judge who was concerned about making decisions on behalf of abused and neglected children without sufficient information to support his decisions. Out of his concern, Judge David Soukup conceived of the idea to use trained advocates to speak for the children in court. The Seattle program was such a success that judges throughout the country requested CASA organizations for their own jurisdictions. Today, there are more than 970 CASA programs nationwide.

Richmond CASA
Richmond CASA was established in April of 1990, with the assistance of the Metropolitan Richmond Women’s Bar Association, Richmond Juvenile and Domestic Relations (J & DR) Court and its Citizen’s Advisory Council, and Richmond’s Youth Services Commission. Richmond CASA began with just one staff member and currently has 5 full time staff members and 60 vounteers. In November 2009, Richmond CASA became a program of Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now).