CASA GAL volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for childrens best interests. They stay with each case until it is closed and the child is in a safe permanent home. We serve children from birth through the age defined by the state statute as the limit to youth remaining in care. Volunteers work with legal and child welfare professionals educators and service providers to ensure that judges have all the information they need to make the the most well-informed decisions for each child. Our best-interest advocacy is driven by the guiding principles that children grow and develop best with their family of origin if that can be safely achieved. Most of the children we work with are in foster care but some are with their family of origin. And most children who leave foster care do so to return to their family