Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Court-Appointed Special Advocates In The Rural South: A Fidelity Assessment, Shanna N. Felix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children in the court system who are abused or neglected are mandated by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to have special legal representation in the form of a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). A GAL can be a staff attorney or he or she can be a volunteer layperson (known as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA) who has undergone the GAL training. In some states, the CASA volunteer can be a substitute for the GAL, while in other states (like Georgia) the CASA is appointed by the judge as a complement to the staff attorney. To …