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Change A Child’s Story.™

Children right here in Jasper County need adults

just like YOU to show up and speak up for them.

You can Change a Child’s Story.

Change A Child’s Story.™

Children right here in Jasper County need adults just like YOU to show up and speak up for them. You can Change a Child’s Story.

ONE stable RELATIONSHIP with ONE supportive ADULT can HELP a CHILD HEAL the past and build a healthier future.

You can be a CASA, too!

 We recruit volunteers, provide thorough training, observe as they take the CASA oath, appoint an advocate to a case, and guide them as they Change a Child’s Life. No volunteer experience compares to being a CASA.

You can Change a Child’s Story

Jasper County CASA empowers local volunteers to serve as advocates for children living the chaos of foster care. Our volunteer advocates ensure that a child’s physical and emotional health is provided for in a safe and loving home environment. CASA volunteers advocate for the best interest of each child.

Donating to CASA ensures that we can provide trained volunteers to serve children in foster care in our community. It helps us provide supervisors to guide the volunteers throughout the process. And it gives our CASA kids a home where they can interact with their advocate in a safe and secure homelike environment.

Mission and History

Jasper County CASA is dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting volunteer advocates from our community to serve children in Jasper County who have been abused and/or neglected and to ensure they are in a safe, permanent home as quickly as possible.

Debi Koelkebeck founded Jasper County CASA and trained the first eight volunteers in January of 2019. Debi was inspired to launch CASA in Jasper County while serving as an advocate in Newton County. More than five years later, Debi leads a staff of six in her role as a full-time VOLUNTEER executive director. Thanks to generous donors and a successful capital campaign also led by Debi, the CASA Training and Connection Center was completed in January 2023. It serves as safe, secure, home-like environment to conduct the business of CASA and host many visits of advocates and CASA kids.

Meet the Team

Each CASA Volunteer is assigned a supervisor who will guide them on their journey as an advocate for a child in foster care. The supervisor provides initial training and continual support throughout the case. Supervisors attend team meetings and court hearings with volunteers. They are available to assist with the day-to-day challenges of case management. Volunteers are not on this journey alone. Our team is always there to lend support.

Events & Training

Visit our calendar to see our upcoming events.

Volunteers attend initial training sessions (a 30-hour training curriculum before being assigned their first case) which are held throughout the year. Both day and evening classes are available. Volunteers are also required to completed 12 hours of education annually.

Special events are held throughout the year to help raise community awareness and funds for our local children in need.

Additionally, you can listen to the National CASA Association‘s podcasts here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Jasper County CASA?

A nonprofit, private, organization dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers who advocate for children in Jasper County who have experienced abuse or neglect.

What does volunteering entail?

A Court Appointed Special Advocate is a regular citizen who is specially trained and appointed by the Juvenile Court Judge to represent a child who has experienced neglect and/or abuse.

How long does a volunteer work on a case?

Each volunteer makes a commitment to remain on a case until the case is closed through reunification with a family member or kinship connection, adoption/guardianship, or “aging out” of the system.

What training is involved for a volunteer?

Volunteers will complete a 30-hour training curriculum provided by the National CASA Association.

How do I volunteer?

Visit here to review our volunteer requirements and sign up to become a volunteer.

How many cases will I have at one time?

Our volunteers typically follow one case (one child or sibling group), but it is possible to have two cases.

Does being a Court Appointed Special Advocate make an impact?

Yes! Children with a Court Appointed Special Advocate by their side spend an average of one year less in the foster care system than those without.

I can't volunteer. Are there other ways for me to help?

Of course! You can help raise awareness within your friend/family circles.

You can also support Jasper County CASA through a donation to ensure that we can maintain our growing volunteer community and can continue to serve the children in our community.

Interested in learning more about Jasper County CASA?

Please visit our Contact Information page HERE, or fill out and submit the form below to have someone reach out to you soon. Thanks!