About CASA
Measuring Results
CASA Kane County's Outcome Measurement Plan is divided into three sections: Child Goals, Volunteer Advocate Goals, and Program Goals.
Child Safety and Well-Being Goals - Child goals reflect what the program hopes to achieve for the children it is serving. These goals are considered, in general, to be what is in the best interests of the child.
No Abuse/Neglect Recurrence
100% of the children served will not experience a substantiated recurrence of abuse/neglect during the year.
Placement Stability
Children served by CASA Kane County should experience an average of two or less placement changes within a year.
CASA Advocate Stability
90% of the children served by the CASA program will remain with the same volunteer advocate this year.
Contact
The average number of volunteer advocate to child contacts will be 1.1 times per month and average a minimum of 60 minutes per month.
Self-Advocacy and Independence
Older youth (age 14-21) served by CASA Kane County will display progress toward meeting their independence goals.
Permanency Goals – CASA strives to achieve permanency as quickly as possible for the children served.
Timeliness to Permanency
The total length of time needed to achieve permanent homes for children served by CASA Kane County will average 42 months or less (based on cases closing in reunification, adoption, or guardianship). Probate guardianship cases will close within 90 days or less.
Reunification with Parent/Kin
A minimum of 60% of children whose cases close will be returned to parents or kin.
Program Goals – Program goals relate to the activities that the program engages in to serve more children and better meet the needs of volunteer advocates.
ACR Attendance
90% of Administrative Case Reviews will be attended by volunteer advocates.
Timely Court Reports
95% of reports will be submitted to the court on time.
Recommendations
97% of recommendations will be accepted by the court.
Training
An average of 75% of volunteer advocates will meet their ongoing training requirements.
Coverage
On average, 10 trained and available volunteer advocates will be maintained throughout the year. A minimum of 35 advocates will be trained annually.
Experience
The volunteer advocate retention rate will remain no less than 20% annually.
Diversity
Volunteer advocates will consist of 25% male, 10% minority, and 15% bilingual volunteers.
In-Service Training
CASA will provide a minimum of 50 hours of unique in-service training.
Supervision
95% of volunteer advocates will be contacted monthly and provided with an annual evaluation.
In addition to evaluating the success of our own program, CASA Kane County must complete a comprehensive self-assessment every four years in order to remain in compliance with the standards set by the National CASA Association. The most recent assessment took place in 2009. There are over 1,000 CASA programs throughout the country, and all must reach a minimum score of 85% compliance to retain membership. This assessment process is intended to help programs achieve their greatest potential and deliver high quality advocacy on behalf of the children they serve.
Recently the National CASA commissioned a study with Caliber Associates. This article reports on the conclusive findings from the Caliber Study, along with the findings from other prominent CASA studies. It is particularly notable when findings of the Caliber study corroborate results from prior independent research efforts. Click here to read the results of the Caliber Study.
Kane County Courthouse - 100 S. Third St., Suite 460 - Geneva, IL 60134