DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “This is an issue I am very passionate about as two of my children are adopted. They were into the foster care system and…”

“This is an issue I am very passionate about as two of my children are adopted. They were into the foster care system and into adoptive placement because of a CASA volunteer seeing the desperate situation they were both in. The current CASA funding only allows for 50 percent of the children who are under court supervision, under court custody to receive the assistance of a CASA volunteer. The program is underfunded. I had originally intended to fully increase this funding so that every child could have a child advocate and a CASA. That is not authorized under the authorization, so we have withdrawn the amendment at this time, but I will work with the gentleman in the future to make sure that we do the right authorizing legislation so this appropriation can be dealt with in the appropriate way in the future.”