Welcome to Bitterroot CASA, Inc.

At Bitterroot CASA, our mission is to provide a voice for abused and neglected children in the court system. We work to ensure that every child has a safe and permanent home where they can thrive. Our team of dedicated volunteers is committed to making a difference in the lives of children and families in need.

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES 

 

BCASA upholds the credibility, integrity, and dignity of the CASA mission by conducting ourselves in an honest, fair, professional, and compassionate manner. Recognizing and respecting the sensitive nature of the work, the program maintains the highest level of confidentiality. 

  

Safety: Throughout the organization, staff, volunteers and the people we serve feel physically and psychologically safe. 

 

Trustworthiness and Transparency: BCASA operations and decisions are conducted with transparency and the goal of building and maintaining trust among staff, advocate volunteers and the children and families we serve. We commit to the continual assessment of practice, organizational, and financial outcomes to determine the system of care's effectiveness in meeting the needs of children and families. 

 

Peer Support and Mutual Self-Help: These are integral to the organizational and delivery approach and are understood as a key vehicle for building trust, establishing safety, and empowerment. 

 

Collaboration and Mutuality: There is true partnering and leveling of power differences between advocate volunteers, staff, and administration. We recognize that healing happens in relationships and in the meaningful sharing of power and decision-making. BCASA recognizes that everyone has a role to play in a trauma-informed approach. We engage home-, school-, and community-based resources to provide care and support to children and families. 

 

Empowerment, Voice, Choice: Throughout the organization, among the advocate volunteers, and the families we serve, individuals’ strengths are recognized, built on and validated, and new skills developed, as necessary. 

 

• We seek to strengthen the skills of staff, advocates, and the families we serve through the experience of choice. We recognize that every person’s experience is unique and requires an individualized approach. This includes a belief in resilience and in the ability of individuals, organizations, and communities to heal and promote recovery from trauma. This builds on what staff, advocates and the community have to offer, rather than responding to perceived deficits. 

 

• Staff and volunteers acknowledge each child and family's unique set of strengths and challenges and build care plans that optimize those strengths while meeting the challenges. We prioritize reunification and family preservation, incorporating family strengths and aspirations in every report to the court. 

 

 

Cultural, Historical and Gender Issues: BCASA actively moves past cultural stereotypes and biases (e.g., based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, geography), leverages the healing value of traditional socio-economic, religious, cultural connections, and recognizes and addresses historical trauma.