It is such a pleasure to reflect on the past quarter as I draft this update. We have so much to celebrate! Thanks to your incredible support, together we are truly making a difference and impacting lives in our community.
We know one of the most important things we can do is connect the youth we work with to community. And many of our Advocates are finding meaningful ways to help youth connect with their culture. Recently, one Advocate took the young woman she supports to a powwow. At first, the youth was hesitant and unsure—having been placed in foster care at a young age, she had never been exposed to her Native American traditions. Experiencing the celebration for the first time allowed her to reconnect with her heritage, filling her with pride and joy as she embraced her culture in a way she never had before.
This past quarter, we also began our partnership with the Truancy Court of Santa Cruz County. With almost 20% of Santa Cruz County students chronically absent, our juvenile court judge requested CASA, as a trusted organization, to partner with the Court. CASA is now providing individualized support to these families, representing the best interest of the child. Families whose children are not attending school face overwhelming challenges no one should navigate alone. It’s our privilege to walk beside them, offering advocacy, support, and hope for the future.
We believe by working with families in the Truancy Court, we are supporting youth before they can potentially become further involved in the court system. Thanks to your generous support, we have proudly achieved all the goals in our current strategic plan and are thrilled to launch our 2026–2029 plan, including a focus on providing early care so children can thrive without the trauma of court involvement. We are equally excited to build on this momentum by exploring new ways to celebrate and strengthen youth as they transition out of court involvement and step confidently into their futures. I am excited to share our new strategic plan with you all in early 2026.
It was so wonderful to connect with many of you at Imagine! on September 20th. What a celebration of youth it was—from our young performers, the student chefs, and our speakers. Together, we celebrated the impact of our work and that every child in the juvenile court system in our community has a caring adult advocating for their best interest. Thanks to your support, we exceeded our fundraising goals by over 10% and introduced many more community members to our mission.
And now for some numbers.
This quarter, we served 115 children, 18 children of whom were newly assigned, waiting only an average of 19.8 days from referral to match.
· 23 were aged 0-5
· 17 were aged 6-11
· 65 were aged 12-18
· 10 were over 18 years old
· 59% of children and youth served this quarter were Hispanic or Latino.
· 61% were in Dependency Care, 35% were in Juvenile Justice, 2% were in Truancy Court, and 2% were in more than one court (dual status)
As the calendar year draws to an end, there are several opportunities to support CASA and our community’s most vulnerable youth. You can make a gift through Santa Cruz Gives, participate in Giving Tuesday, or contribute to our year-end appeal. We hope you will consider leaving a legacy to sustain our work for the next generation of children by naming CASA of Santa Cruz County in your will or trust.
To learn more visit: https://casaofsantacruz.org/support_us/legacy-society.html
