Built on a simple belief.
Every child in the juvenile court system deserves an adult who shows up for them — week after week, hearing after hearing. PlainsWest CASA was founded in 2018 to bring that promise to families across Cheyenne, Kimball, and Deuel counties.
To advocate for the health, safety, & well-being of every child we serve.
CASA volunteers are appointed by a judge to be the eyes and ears of the court for children in foster care. We get to know the child, the family, the teachers, and the caseworkers — then we write the report that helps the judge make the best decision for the child's future.
We are part of a national CASA network — but the work is personal, local, and quiet. It happens in living rooms, classrooms, and chambers across western Nebraska.
Every abused and neglected child has a CASA volunteer appointed to represent their best interests.
Seattle, 1977.
When abused or neglected children enter the juvenile court and foster-care system, they do it virtually alone. In 1977, a judge in Seattle noticed that as he heard a case of an abused child, one critical voice was missing — no one in the room had the child's best interests as their sole focus.
His answer: train community volunteers to fill that gap. Hence the birth of the CASA movement. Today PlainsWest CASA carries that promise to children in Cheyenne, Kimball, and Deuel counties.
Research from the National CASA Association shows children with a CASA fare better.
Receive more services
Children with a CASA receive more of the services and supports they need.
Perform better in school
More likely to pass courses, less likely to exhibit poor conduct, and less likely to be expelled.
More likely to be adopted
Permanency outcomes improve when an advocate stays with the case.
Half as likely to re-enter foster care
Once placed in a permanent home, children with a CASA are far less likely to come back into the system.
Less time in long-term care
Substantially less likely to remain in long-term foster care.
One steady voice
A CASA stays with the child from appointment through permanency — sometimes for years.
Source: National CASA / GAL Association for Children.
Four commitments we make to every child.
Listen first
We hear the child before we speak for them. Their voice shapes our recommendations.
Show up
Consistency matters more than perfection. We meet kids where they are, every month.
Stay independent
We are not the agency, the family, or the attorney. We answer to the child.
Hold hope
Even on hard days, we believe permanent, loving homes are possible — and worth fighting for.
Three counties. One promise.
We are based in Sidney and serve every child whose case crosses the juvenile bench in our region.
Real people from western Nebraska, doing this every day.
Volunteers from across our service area who oversee the mission, finances, and future of PlainsWest CASA.
Every child deserves one steady adult.
Plains West CASA — Cheyenne, Kimball, and Deuel counties.