Thirty years ago, Tulsa’s Court Appointed Special Advocates was formed to help abused and neglected children in the area.
It’s estimated there are about 2,000 kids who would benefit from having a CASA volunteer. CASA’s Keana Dorshorst said kids in the court system or foster care often have several people, like social workers and attorneys, in and out of their lives because they’re paid to.
"So having a CASA is really special for the children because the CASA is only there for that child or that sibling group, and they're there because they want to be, not because they're paid to be," Dorshorst said.
Becoming a volunteer involves an application process and 30 hours of training.
"All of our volunteers do have a passion for helping children, and it's incredibly rewarding to be able to make a difference in the life of a child," Dorshorst said.
According to its annual report, last year 126 Tulsa CASA volunteers gave almost 5,000 hours of their time to help 256 Tulsa County kids.
Tulsa CASA works with the county’s juvenile court. The organization estimates abused and neglected children are 38 percent more likely to become violent criminals as adults.
