The Tennessee Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association began in early 1986 when directors of local CASA agencies began to meet informally and to share ideas and concerns. Later in 1986, the Tennessee Legislature appropriated the first state money for CASA programs which helped strengthen the CASA network across the state.
In 1988 the Tennessee Bar Foundation through its IOLTA fund awarded grants to several CASA agencies in Tennessee. The time was right to form a state association and in 1988 the Tennessee Court Appointed Special Advocate Association was chartered as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit membership corporation.
The first local CASA agency was started in 1984 in Nashville. During the next three years Chattanooga, Memphis and Knoxville started programs. Today 19 CASA agencies serve 32 counties across the state, from Johnson City in the northeast corner to Memphis on the Mississippi River. For the year ending June 2007, more than 900 CASA volunteers advocated for 4,197 of Tennessee’s abused and neglected children, providing more than 90,000 hours of volunteer service.