An annual report is an opportunity to look back, to share numbers and boast accomplishments of a year gone by. And you will certainly find them in this presentation. But by its very nature, our business—the business of standing up for children's fundamental rights to be safe and treated with dignity and respect, of giving them hope for a better life—is fundamentally focused on the future.
In 2011, National CASA took a first, bold step toward achieving an ambitious but attainable goal: Ensuring that every child in the foster care and juvenile court systems has a CASA volunteer standing by her side.
We know why this is important. Because the 234,000 children who had a CASA volunteer in 2011 are half as likely to languish in foster care and twice as likely to find a safe, permanent home. We also know that two thirds of the children in the system—that's 400,000 children each year—still do not have a CASA volunteer standing up for their rights.
In 2011 we launched the I am for the child™ campaign with a pledge to fight on behalf of America's children:
- Until every court in the United States recognizes a CASA volunteer as essential for a successful outcome for children
- Until our volunteer base reflects the diversity and cultural makeup of children in the system
- Until every potential supporter understands the importance of our mission
- Until every legislator and governmental official places our work at the top of his agenda
- And until every child can thrive in the embrace of a loving family
The I am for the child campaign is supporting a transformation in our network—in capacity, in cohesiveness of message and in creativity, as we speak the truth about foster youth in diverse ways. As you'll read in this report, our network has begun to put the campaign to use in creative and powerful ways. But we still have a long way to go. And we will only get there with your help.
As a favorite African proverb of mine states:
If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
Together, we brought our movement to places where many believed the barriers were too high. And what is most striking is not the number of volunteers involved or even where our expansion has taken place, but the galvanizing power of teamwork that has accompanied and sustained it.
Thank you for the inspiration you provide and we ask you to continue to join us in making this promise: I am for the child.