In 1977, a Seattle Superior Court Judge, David Soukup, often felt that he didn’t have enough information about the unique circumstances of each abused or neglected child that he saw in his courtroom. Making crucial, life-changing decisions impacting children was difficult given the incomplete case facts he heard from the bench. He decided to deputize a friend and asked her to do a thorough investigation of a child’s situation as well as getting to know the child himself.

It was a novel idea, and it worked. He put the word out, and fifty citizens answered the call. These individuals became the first Court-Appointed Special Advocates, and the CASA program was born. The idea spread nationally. Since the establishment of the first program, CASA volunteers have advocated for more than two million children.

In 1988, Judge David Mitchell and a team of loving citizens established CASA of Baltimore with the desire to serve Baltimore's abused and neglected children. The nonprofit was incorporated in 1995. Since its conception, CASA of Baltimore has continued to grow, and today, a staff of eight employees, along with 85 volunteers, advocates for 120 children and youth in foster care each year.