For an abused or neglected child, a CASA volunteer is someone who listens to the child, fights for the child, and whose sole mission is to help clear a path for the child out of the complex, overburdened child welfare system and into a safe, permanent home. CASA volunteers are in a unique position to be the only professional in the courtroom not paid to be there and are only beholden to the children's best interests. We know that the CASA model works. Research has shown that a child with a CASA volunteer is half as likely to enter long-term foster care compared to a child without a CASA. And once that child leaves the system, he or she is much more likely to stay out of foster care. Permanently.