Welcome to Court Appointed Special Advocates of Grayson County

About CASA

 

A judge in Seattle originated the CASA concept.  Realizing that he was overwhelmed by the number of children's cases before him, he organized a group of court-sponsored volunteers to gather information and make recommendations leading to better judgments for individual children.  Given the name CASA, the program met and then exceeded expectations.  Other judges and cities took notice and CASA began to spread nationwide - court by court, child by child.

CASA of Grayson County was one of those.  Judge Lloyd Perkins of the 59th District Court felt the need in his courtroom.  So did 15th District Judge Jim Fry and 336th District Judge Ray Grisham.  In late 1992, Carolyn Fields, Ginny Jones, Judy McGraw and Mary Green became the driving forces for bringing child advocate resources to Grayson County.

Read "The Case of Mary Ellen" or "Still Without a Voice", two stories about the development of the CASA program.

In 2003, 50,208 children were confirmed as victims of child abuse or neglect in Texas.  Foster care expenditures in Texas for this period were $ 315,000,000.  Statistically, a child served by CASA spent 10 fewer months in the foster care system where each social worker has an average caseload of 50 children.  At an annual cost of over $16,479 each to keep a Texas child in foster care, CASA saves the State of Texas millions of dollars for children not in extended foster care and the unpaid services of trained volunteers.

In fiscal year July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006, 35 CASA of Grayson County Guardians ad Litem served 148 abused and neglected children in Grayson County. 

Local CASA Staff

The CASA of Grayson County, Inc. office is staffed by highly dedicated and trained personnel.  These include Executive Director Jana Garner, Program Manager Hayley Davis, Casework Supervisors Susan Osborne, Natalie Hunt and Pam Silva, and PMC Casework Supervisor Judy McGraw.  Visit the contact page for more information.