As a judge

About CASA Baltimore

As a judge, I had to make tough decisions. I had to decide whether to take a child from the only home he's ever known, or leave him someplace where he might possibly be abused. I needed someone who could tell me what was best for that child – from the child's viewpoint. That's what CASA does.

Former Superior Court Judge David Soukup,
Founder of CASA

The honorable David B. Mitchell, then Administrative Judge of the Juvenile Division of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, established CASA of Baltimore, Inc., in 1988. The program, which was originally operated by the University of Maryland School of Social Work and then as a program of Advocates for Children and Youth, Inc. became an independent agency in 1995. In the spring of 1998, several issues, including declining financial resources, led CASA of Baltimore's Board of Directors to initiate a reorganization to revitalize the program. Broad support for the continuation of the program, the need, particularly in Baltimore City for this type of program, and past successes, played a key role in the Montgomery County CASA Board of Directors' unanimous decision in September, 1998 to assume temporary responsibility for the Baltimore CASA program. CASA of Baltimore retained its legal status as an independent agency and functioned as a separate entity while it built a Baltimore-based. CASA of Baltimore assumed independence from Montgomery County CASA effective July 1, 2001.