CASA of Lane County History

In 1977, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. So successful was this program that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. In 1990, the US Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA programs with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act.

CASA of Lane County was founded in 1994 to train volunteers to advocate for the best interests of children who have been abused or neglected and are under the protection of the Juvenile Court. We believe every child has a right to a safe permanent home.

In 2002, the CASA staff of six moved into a quaint old farmhouse as part of a generous donation from Sony who had purchased the house and property while acquiring the land for their new location. However, in 2005, Sony announced they were moving from the area and selling all properties. In this tansition, Sony offered to sell the home and property to CASA at just over half of the appraised value, an offer that CASA could not refuse.

In 2005, CASA launched a Permanent Home Campaign to raise $364,000 to purchase the home and property. This funding would also be used to remodel and expand the small storage building that would eventually be used for a training and meeting room to accommodate the growing need for volunteers to advocate for children.

With generous donations from the community, CASA's Permanent Home Campaign was completed in December 2006. Today, CASA has doubled in size to thirteen employees and bursting at the seams in this quaint old farmhouse. As the need for CASA volunteers continues and our staff grows, further expansion of the facilities will occur.

We sincerely appreciate the generosity of this community in supporting our staff and volunteers in advocating for children.

Megan Friese, Executive Director