CASA/GAL

Role in the System

CASAs and GALs are presented as “the child’s voice,” but in practice they serve the court and agency more than the family. CASA volunteers get a few hours of training, then step into hearings giving testimony that judges weigh like expert opinion. GALs are usually attorneys, but many have little child welfare expertise and rely heavily on the same CPS files already coded against you. Together, they tilt outcomes toward removal and TPR while posing as neutral advocates.

Core Functions

Meet briefly with the child; sometimes with foster or biological parents.

File “best interest” reports treated like expert analysis.

Testify in hearings and influence placement, visitation, and permanency rulings.

Use code language (“lacks insight,” “defensive,” “poor compliance”) that triggers lower parenting scores and feeds the risk models.

Reinforce agency narratives under the cover of “objectivity.”

Education

CASA: Minimal training (30–40 hours), no degree required. Yet they hold sway in court over family bonds and parental rights.

GAL: Licensed attorneys, but child welfare experience varies. Many have overloaded caseloads and recycle CPS paperwork into their reports.

Average Salary

CASA: Unpaid “volunteers” — free labor that produces reports driving state timelines and funding streams.

GAL: Paid through state or court contracts, typically $60,000–$90,000+ per year, depending on caseloads and contracts. Incentives favor speed, not accuracy.

Impact on Families

CASA and GAL recommendations can reduce visits, brand parents as unsafe, and set the stage for TPR. Judges give them credibility far beyond their training, often treating their words as neutral when they mirror CPS bias. A few coded phrases in their report can outweigh months of compliance. Families are left fighting not evidence, but the opinion of a volunteer or overworked attorney who spent minutes, not months, in their lives.