Another year has flown by, and thanks to our community, we continue to advocate for the most vulnerable youth in Santa Cruz County. Despite significant federal and state budget cuts in 2025, your unwavering support allowed us to continue to fulfill our mission. Because of you, each child in the dependency and juvenile court system feels cared for and connected with the people, families, and resources they need.
As we now incredibly move into our 34th year, we are so touched by the many enduring relationships between Advocates and youth. We consistently hear stories of Advocates attending the weddings, holidays, and birthday celebrations of the youth they once served, many of whom are in their 30’s or 40’s. We recently met with one Advocate who regularly meets with the child she was matched with 20 years ago, providing advice and connection to resources for managing adult responsibilities. It is a powerful testament of community building that we value.
We are also proud to announce our 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, outlining how we will strengthen, build, and sustain our programs in the coming years. I look forward to opportunities to share the plan with you in detail. Please contact me if you would like to schedule a discussion.
As you can see from the numbers below, justice-involved youth are now around 33% of all the youth we serve. A year ago, 25% of the children and youth we serve were justice-involved, highlighting the shifting needs of our community. Advocacy for justice-involved youth is often-times more involved and more complex. Because they don’t have assigned social workers, CASAs directly connect these youth to vital services and resources they need.
Our work in Truancy Court continues to evolve as well. We are assigning more cases and working with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) and the Student Action Review Board (SARB) so we can serve families early, before they get in front of the court.
Last quarter, we served 123 children, 20 children of whom were newly assigned, waiting only a median of 24 days from referral to match.
22 were aged 0-5
19 were aged 6-11
70 were aged 12-18
12 were over 18 years old
58% of children and youth served this quarter were Hispanic or Latino.
61% were in Dependency Care, 33% were in Juvenile Justice, 4% were in Truancy Court, and 2% were in more than one court (dual status)
Without your support our work honestly would not be possible. The generosity you showed with end-of-year giving truly filled us with gratitude. On behalf of everyone at CASA and the children and families we serve, thank you for believing in our mission and for being a champion for every child. Together, we are making a profound difference.
