Court Appointed Special Advocates Aims to Attract Latino Volunteers.

La Agencia de Orcí & Asociados has been chosen as the Hispanic public relations agency of record for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). La Agencia de Orcí was selected from among three other agencies in a formal national review.

By partnering with La Agencia de Orcí, CASA is establishing its commitment to the U.S. Hispanic community. The main goal for CASA’s Hispanic communications plan is to increase Latino CASA volunteers. CASA trains these volunteers who can then be appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of the children in the U.S. court systems. Last year, there were over 900,000 children reported as abused and neglected in America; 130,935 (14.5%) of them were Latino. Currently, CASA has less than 2,500 Hispanic volunteers to help these children, so the need for more Hispanic volunteers is great.

La Agencia de Orcí is now responsible for creating and executing a strategic plan, which will include year-round programs, media relations, a national signature program unique to CASA, events, selecting and working with celebrity spokespersons and developing public service announcements (PSAs). La Agencia will also provide support materials, such as recruitment brochures, with consistent messages for all of the 950 CASA programs across the country. La Agencia will coordinate all Hispanic communications efforts with the general market efforts, which will help unify CASA’s national brand and continue to build the stature of its programs.

CASA’s Hispanic communications plan will target acculturated, bilingual professionals, ages 21-45. A CASA volunteer provides a judge with carefully researched background of the child they are representing to help the court make a sound decision about that child’s future. These volunteers are involved in determining what is in a child’s best interest, such as whether or not the child should stay with his or her parents or guardians, be placed in foster care, be placed with other relatives, or be accessible for permanent adoption.

“La Agencia de Orcí’s experience and knowledge of the target audience will help us build awareness for CASA with the U.S. Latino community and attract much-needed Latino volunteers,” states Jim Clune, Chief Communications Officer for CASA. “We are eager to get started on working with the La Agencia de Orcí team.”

“We are looking forward to this rewarding partnership with CASA in which we will positively effect the lives effect of thousands of children,” said Jaime Ramírez, vice president – director of client services for La Agencia de Orcí & Asociados. “An important part of La Agencia’s corporate mission is to demonstrate an on-going commitment to the U.S. Latino community. Working with CASA will help us to accomplish this mission.”

About CASA

In 1976, concerned over making decisions about abused and neglected children’s lives without sufficient information, a Seattle judge conceived the idea of using trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court, helping to ensure that they will live in a safe and loving environment. So successful was this Seattle program, that soon judges across the country began utilizing citizen advocates. In 1990, the U.S. Congress encouraged the expansion of CASA with passage of the Victims of Child Abuse Act. Today, more than 950 CASA programs operate in every state of the union and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with more than 60,000 men and women serving as CASA volunteers. For more information or how you can become a CASA/GAL supporter or volunteer, contact us at 1-800-628-3233, ext. 288, or visit the National CASA website at http://www.nationalcasa.org/.