Effects of Court-Appointed Special Advocate Intervention on Permanency Outcomes of Children in Foster Care

Despite the popularity of court-appointed special advocate (CASA) intervention, little is known about its effects on permanency outcomes of children in foster care. Given that a foster child's permanency is closely associated with outcomes, such as being at greater risk for developing emotional and behavioral problems, homelessness, criminal activity, and early pregnancies, it is crucial to explore foster-care children's permanency outcomes as a proxy for the effects of CASA intervention. This study aimed to examine to what extent CASA intervention was associated with permanency outcomes of children in foster care. A systematic random sample of 304 children was drawn from all closed case files referred for CASA intervention from 1995 to 2012 in a rural community in Tennessee. Two groups of children who received CASA services (n = 129) and children who did not receive CASA services (n = 175) were compared. The results of a multinomial regression model indicated that CASA intervention was significantly associated with permanency outcomes; children who received CASA intervention were more likely to be adopted or reunified with their relatives rather than reunified with their birth parents. Further studies should investigate overall quality of permanency outcomes of foster children