About Child Advocates

FAQ

What is Child Advocates, Inc.?

Child Advocates, Inc. is a private nonprofit organization that is Harris County’s Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. We mobilize court-appointed volunteers to break the cycle of child abuse. These advocates serve children who have been placed in foster care because they can no longer live safely at home. Appointed by juvenile and family court judges, the advocates serve as a child’s “guardian ad litem,” giving them the power to make a profound difference in that child’s life. In court, advocates give a voice to the child’s best interests and guide them into safe environments where they can thrive.

What happens to children who do not receive the support they need in the child welfare system?

Children who experience abuse and neglect and enter foster care often face significant challenges, both during childhood and into adulthood. Research shows that without consistent, caring support, young people who have been in foster care are at higher risk of outcomes such as homelessness, unemployment, unplanned pregnancy, and substance use. They are also less likely to graduate from high school or earn a living wage.

Beyond these statistics are the emotional impacts of trauma. Many children in the child welfare system have never experienced a stable, nurturing family environment or received the therapeutic support needed to heal. Without help learning how to build trust, regulate emotions, and develop healthy relationships, the effects of trauma can carry forward into adulthood and even into the next generation.

Child Advocates exists to break this cycle. Our trained volunteer advocates provide consistent, caring support and a strong voice for each child, helping them move more quickly toward safe, permanent and loving homes - and toward a future with stability, healing and hope.

How does Child Advocates operate?

Child Advocates steps in to support children who are involved with the Texas child welfare and judicial systems after allegations of abuse or neglect.

The child welfare context in Texas (2026)

In Texas, foster care and related services are transitioning towards Community-Based Care (CBC) - a statewide redesign of the child welfare system that transitions many day-to-day foster care and case management functions to local community-based networks called Single Source Continuum Contractors (SSCCs). These organizations provide foster care placement, case management, reunification support, kinship services and other wrap-around services designed to keep children safe and connected to their communities. This shift aims to improve stability and outcomes by leveraging local strengths and supports for children and families.

At the same time, child welfare cases in Texas are handled in specialized court dockets known as Child Protection Courts (CPCs), where judges focus exclusively on child abuse and neglect cases. These courts are supported by systems like the Child Protection Case Management System (CPCMS) to track and manage cases efficiently.

Where Child Advocates fits in

Child Advocates’ work begins after a child has experienced significant abuse or neglect and has been removed from their home - that removal is typically ordered by a judge after evidence of danger is presented in court. Child Advocates does not determine whether a child should be removed; rather, we provide advocacy support once a case is already in the court and child welfare system.

Referral to Child Advocates

Our services can be requested by any party standing in the case, including the judge, the child’s attorney, a guardian ad litem, parents, relatives, or - even in some cases - the child themselves. However, Child Advocates may only become involved once formally appointed to the case by the presiding judge.

Once a child is in state custody, they remain under court jurisdiction until a permanent plan (reunification, kinship care, adoption or another stable outcome) is established.

What does a court-appointed advocate do?

Volunteer Advocacy Training and Assignment

Every volunteer advocate with Child Advocates completes a thorough, evidence-informed training program known as Advocacy University. This course, led by Child Advocates staff and expert guest trainers such as judges, attorneys, and child welfare professionals, prepares volunteers to understand trauma, child development, the legal and child welfare systems and best practices in child advocacy.

After completing 30-hours of training, clearing all required background checks, and being officially sworn in by a judge, each appointed advocate is assigned to one case, involving a single child or sibling group, under the direct supervision of a professional Advocacy Coordinator (AC) - a trained social services expert employed by Child Advocates.

Supervision model and impact

Each AC supports a cohort of appointed advocates, enabling them to focus deeply on the needs of one child or sibling group at a time while having consistent access to professional guidance, problem-solving and case support.

This structured model allows Child Advocates to multiply the impact of its professional staff: volunteer advocates devote their full attention and advocacy skills to individual cases, while Advocacy Coordinators ensure quality, continuity and accountability across the program.

What our advocates do

Volunteer advocates:

Attend court hearings and speak up for the child’s best interests.

Visit the child or sibling group monthly to build a personal relationship and understand their needs.

Gather information and collaborate with families, caseworkers, attorneys and service providers.

Help ensure the child’s voice is heard as their case moves toward permanency (e.g., reunification, kinship placement, or adoption).

Support stability, connection and healing as the child moves through the foster care process.

By providing consistent advocacy and a caring presence, Child Advocates helps children navigate a complex system and reach safe, permanent and loving homes sooner.

What type of person makes a good Child Advocates volunteer?

Volunteer advocates come from all careers, cultures, educational backgrounds, ages and experiences - that's what makes this program work. The primary requirements for being a court-appointed advocate with Child Advocates are that you have a genuine interest in the well-being of children, are a proactive communicator, and complete our Advocacy University training course. Court-appointed advocates are objective, responsible, committed, persistent and understand the important role they have in a child's life. Both men and women 21 years of age or older are needed as volunteer advocates. They must undergo training and interviews as well as thorough background checks, including Local Criminal, National Criminal, CPS and National Sex Offender checks.

How much time does it take to be a Child Advocates' volunteer?

In the same amount of time you spend each week doing something ordinary, like watching a TV show, you can do something extraordinary: change the life of an abused child. Volunteer advocates average 8 to 12 hours of casework per month. Many of them work full-time jobs of their own.

What are Child Advocates’ goals and what progress has been made toward achieving them?

On any given day, thousands of children in Harris County are involved in the child welfare system due to abuse or neglect. These children face complex legal, emotional and placement challenges, and the professionals assigned to their cases often have a limited amount of individualized attention they can provide each child.

Child Advocates’ long-term goal is that every child who enters the court system in Harris County will have a trained, court-appointed volunteer advocate to serve as their consistent voice in court.

To achieve this, our ongoing priority is to meet the full demand of court appointments by maintaining a strong, well-trained and continuously growing volunteer program. This means recruiting, training and retaining enough volunteer advocates so that every case referred to our program can be accepted and every child can be matched with a court-appointed advocate as quickly as possible.

Our ultimate mission is to help break the cycle of abuse and neglect by ensuring that each child we serve:

Is seen and heard,

Receives consistent advocacy,

Has their needs clearly communicated to the court, and

Moves more quickly toward safety, stability and a permanent, nurturing home.

How does Child Advocates measure its progress toward achieving its goals?

Child Advocates tracks key performance indicators on a monthly and quarterly basis to evaluate the effectiveness of our Court Services Program. These metrics include:

Number of cases and children served

Number of active and newly trained volunteers

Volunteer hours contributed

Case duration and outcomes

Demographics of children served

Regular analysis helps us monitor our progress toward annual goals and continually improve our advocacy impact.

Our effectiveness is supported by research. A multi-year longitudinal study conducted with the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and the University of Houston Psychology Department found that children with a court-appointed volunteer advocate experience significantly better outcomes than peers without one. According to the study, children with court-appointed advocates showed:

Higher self-esteem and better behavior regulation

More positive attitudes toward the future and greater value on achievement

Better social functioning

The research also found that parents of children with volunteer advocates were more likely to be offered - and complete - support services such as counseling, psychiatric evaluations, substance use treatment and GED education. Additionally, children with court-appointed volunteer advocates experienced:

Fewer emergency or therapeutic placements

Fewer placement changes

Lower likelihood of re-entering foster care after finding a permanent home

Link to the full research article here.

Does Child Advocates have the resources to meet its goals?

Child Advocates is sustained by the generosity and involvement of the community. Our work is funded through a combination of individual donors, foundations, corporations, faith-based partners and community organizations, allowing us to provide services to children at no cost to them or their families.

However, the need continues to grow. Every day, new children are coming into foster care, and our ability to serve every child depends on having both the financial resources and the trained volunteer advocates to meet that demand.

There are several ways anyone can make a meaningful impact today:

Become a Volunteer Advocate: By committing to training and serving as a court-appointed advocate, you can provide one child with a consistent voice and caring presence during a critical time in their life.

Support Financially: Donations help fund volunteer advocate training, professional supervision and the operational infrastructure required to ensure every appointed advocate is well-prepared and every child is well-served.

Get Involved and Spread Awareness: Community members can support our mission through events, employer partnerships, faith communities and by sharing our work with others who may be called to serve or give.

Together, the community makes it possible for Child Advocates to recruit, train and support enough court-appointed volunteer advocates to meet every court appointment and to ensure that every child navigating the child welfare system has someone standing beside them, speaking up for their best interests and helping them move toward safety, healing and permanency.