CASA of the River Region expands advocacy services to Autauga County

CASA of the River Region expanded its service area to Autauga and Chilton counties after the retirement of Pam Tindal, the founder and longtime leader of CASA of Autauga and Chilton Counties. The change keeps the local child-advocacy program in place for foster children and other court-involved children in Autauga County, where volunteers will continue supporting cases, attending hearings and staying connected to children over time.

Charity Alpert, executive director of CASA of the River Region, expressed gratitude for Tindal’s years of dedication and said the organization is honored to carry the program forward. The River Region group will oversee volunteer advocacy services, case management support and program operations in both counties while maintaining a local presence.

Local CASA programs recruit, screen, train and supervise volunteers who are sworn in as court officers so judges can hear a child’s best interests from a consistent community advocate. The Alabama Department of Human Resources assigns each child in foster care a social worker to support placement and access to services, but CASA volunteers add a separate layer of court-based advocacy.

The regional expansion also keeps Autauga County inside a broader network that now includes Montgomery and Elmore counties. Alabama CASA has 15 CASA programs in the state serving 23 counties, while 44 Alabama counties still do not have CASA coverage. In 2022, Alabama CASA counted 742 trained volunteers and 2,775 children actively served at any given time, alongside more than 14,000 children in the state in foster care.

CASA’s model began in 1977, when Seattle juvenile court judge David Soukup pushed for more information about children before life-changing court decisions were made. In Alabama, the local Autauga and Chilton nonprofit was formed on July 26, 2019, and business listings place it in Prattville.