Relates to establishing a court-appointed special advocates program to aid family court efforts to promote the health, safety and well-being of children

6 Co-sponsors

• David Carlucci
• Patrick M. Gallivan
• Timothy M. Kennedy
• Patty Ritchie
• Diane J. Savino
• David J. Valesky

BILL NUMBER:S1636A

Title of bill

An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the court-appointed special advocates program

Purpose or general idea of bill

To establish the Court Appointed Special Advocates program (CASA) in statute and codify existing Office of Court Administration (OCA) rules pertaining to CASA.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Legislative intent.

Section 2: Creates a new article 21-C in the judiciary law known as the Court Appointed Special Advocates Program.

Section 3: Effective date.

Justification

The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program was established by the Office of Court Administration in 1991 under the Task Force on Permanency Planning to promote and support trained community volunteer advocacy programs. The role of CASA is to assist Family Courts in making crucial decisions affecting children who have been abused and neglected. The Association incorporated in 1995 as an independent not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. There are 21 local CASA programs providing services to the family courts in 31 counties.

All CASA programs strive to achieve the same goal: to ensure that every abused and neglected child be placed in a safe, permanent home while taking into consideration each of their emotional, educational and physical needs. CASA volunteers are screened, trained and supervised in their activities. They come from a variety of professional, educational and ethnic backgrounds. By being assigned only one or two cases at a time, the CASA volunteer can dedicate a sufficient amount of time and energy to fully explore the history of each assigned child and engage in dialogue directly with the child, parents, foster parents, family members, attorneys, case workers, neighbors, school officials, and others involved in the child's life. After this process is completed, the volunteer typically submits a report of recommendations to the Family Court Judge. This report is instrumental in helping the judge determine whether the child should stay with his or her parents, be placed in foster care or be freed for adoption.

This bill is enabling legislation that codifies the CASA program and accompanying OCA regulations. By doing so, it makes clear the Legislature's support for the program, provides a consistent interpretation of CASA's role within the Family Court and strengthens CASA's standing in its important work on behalf of abused and neglected children in the State's foster care system.

Legislative history

S.7536 of 2014: Passed Senate; Died in Assembly Judiciary Committee

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.