CASA seeing dip in volunteers, uptick in alleged neglect and abuse cases

CASA of Travis County says since the end of the pandemic, it's seen a dip in volunteers. Meanwhile, the number of complex cases involving foster care kids is going up.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- CASA of Travis County said since the end of the pandemic, it's seen a dip in volunteers. Meanwhile, the number of complex cases involving foster care kids is going up.

CASA -- which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates -- is a volunteer-based group that steps in when a child enters the foster care system. CASA volunteers serve as an advocate for and the voice of a foster child during the legal process.

But CASA of Travis County said they've seen a roughly 20% drop in new volunteers by this point in the year as compared to last. They're also seeing an uptick in complex cases, which are the ones most often involving allegations of extreme abuse or neglect.

"So we're definitely looking for more volunteers. Our goal this year is to get 200 people all the way through our training and screening process and so far we're at 59 so we've got a ways to go," said Laura Wolf, the CEO of CASA of Travis County.

Volunteers must be at least 21 years old but does not need to come from a specific background, CASA provides all training necessary.

You can find more information about volunteering here.