• In 2007 there were 834 active volunteers, of whom 296 were new.

• CASA volunteers are well educated; in New York State 73% are college graduates, and many have earned advanced degrees. Another 17% have had at least some college.
  

• Each CASA volunteer contributed, on average, approximately 120 hours of time.

• 87% are women. (Of new volunteers, 85% are women.)

• The majority of volunteers (80%) are Caucasian, followed by African American (13%), Hispanic/Latino (4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1%). The remaining 2% were identified as Multi-Racial, Native American, or Other. (Of new volunteers, 73% are Caucasian, followed by African American (15%), Hispanic/Latino ( 7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2%), and Multi-Racial (3%). One volunteer was Native American. Five programs report having a targeted recruitment campaign to increase volunteer racial/ethnic diversity. 

• More than half the volunteers are at least 50 years old – 12% are under 30; 14%, 30 to 39; 21%, 40 to 49; 22%, 50 to 59; and 30% are 60 or older. For 1% of the volunteers, age was not specified.

• More than one third of the volunteers (38%) worked full-time in addition to being a CASA, and an additional 11% worked part-time. 24% of the volunteers were retirees, while 6% were students, and 12% were not employed. Employment status for 9% was unspecified.

• Fourteen programs reported that volunteers an average of only one case at a time. Eight programs reported assigning an average of two cases per volunteer, and one program averaged three cases per volunteer. The median was 1 case per volunteer and the mean was 1.35 cases.

• Programs reported that their volunteers serve anywhere from one-to-five children at one time, with a median of 2.5 and a mean of  2.72.

• Volunteers remain active with CASA programs for a median of 26 months and an average of 28 months. The most commonly cited reasons for leaving are family, health, and employment concerns..

• Boys and girls are equally represented.

• 31% are under than 5 years old; 29% are 6-11 years old; 31% are 12-18 years old; and 9% were over 18 years old.

• Of the children served by CASA in 2007, 44% were African American, followed by Caucasian (28%), Hispanic/Latino (20%), Multi-Racial (6%), and Asian/Pacific Islanders (1%). The remaining 1% consisted of Native American (15 children), and unspecified ethnic groups (30 children). Of the children newly assigned to CASA, 42% were African American, followed by Caucasian (28%), Hispanic/Latino (22%), Multi-Racial (5%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (1%). The remaining 3% was comprised of Native Americans (four children), and those for whom an ethnic group was unspecified (35 children).

• The cases of 1,091 children were closed in 2007. Of these, 6% of their cases were closed within 0-3 months from the time they were assigned to CASA; 13% were closed within 4-6 months; 24% within 7-12 months; and 28% within 1-2 years.  The cases of 29% of the children had been open for more than two years after being assigned to CASA

• Of the children whose cases were closed, 31% were returned to their families; 13% were adopted; 12% were placed with a guardian; 9% had their cases removed from the docket; 6% had aged out of the system; 1% moved; 1% ran away; 1% of the cases were transferred; and 1 child died. 26% of the cases were listed as closed for reasons not captured by the survey options – institutionalized; stable placement; home study done; order expired; and no further need for CASA.

• The National CASA survey has only recently included questions about the length of time children, whose cases were closed, had spent in out-of-home care – both the total time in care and the time in care since the assignment of a CASA. Since these questions were newly posed, not all programs have been consistently tracking this data. For the 12 programs that tracked total time in care (and the 15 programs that tracked time in care since assignment of CASA), 31% of the children had spent a total of less than one year in care, (31% of children were in care for less than one year after CASA assignment to case closure). 29% spent a total of one-to-two years in care (39% after assignment).  18% spent a total two-to-three years in care (20% after assignment). 12% spent a total of three-to-four years in care (8% after assignment). 10% of children spent a total of more than four years in care (2% after assignment). Seven programs reported serving a total of 151 children for other than abuse and neglect cases. These involved mediation, supervised visitation, divorce/custody, delinquency, home study, visitation, and placement.

• In 2007, the 24 CASA programs in New York State employed 40 full time and 46 part time individuals for a total of 60 FTEs. Five programs report adding staff time, three have cut staff hours, and 16 report no change. Of the 86  full- and part-time staff members, nearly 30% have previously served as CASA volunteers.

• 90% of staff members are female.

• Most staff members are Caucasian (91%), followed by African American (6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2%), and Hispanic/Latino (1%).

• Staff are well educated. 86% are college graduates and more than one-third of those individuals have earned advanced degrees. Another 10% have had at least some college.

• Fourteen directors are full time and ten are part time. Among those who are part time, some fill other roles at their umbrella agencies.

In cases where the CASA program is part of an umbrella agency, these figures pertain only to the CASA program and not to the umbrella agency as a whole.

• Total reported revenue for all 24 CASA programs in 2007 was nearly $3 million, ranging from a low of $15,111 to a high of $1,091,713. The median was just under $70,000 and the mean was nearly $125,000.

• Total budgeted expenses for all programs was reported at approximately $3.3 million with a median of nearly $78,000 and a mean of approximately $140,000.

• Nine programs report more revenue than in the previous year, eleven report less, and three report no change. One program was in its first year of operation.

• According to the survey, the median cost per child served was $842 and the median cost per volunteer was $2,776.

• Based on the Independent Sector's 2006 calculation of $26.16 per hour for a volunteer in New York State – a figure used to quantify volunteer contributions –  CASA volunteers' equivalent in paid hours amounts to over $2.6 million a year in donated time.

• Local CASA 2007 Program Profile  -- revised, 6/19/08 (pdf) NEW!

• Local CASA 2006 Program Profile (pdf)
• Local CASA 2005 Program Profile (pdf)
  Local CASA 2004 Program Profile (pdf)
• Local CASA 2003 Program Profile (pdf)
• Local CASA 2002 Program Profile (pdf)
• Local CASA 2001 Program Profile (pdf)