Local Resources
What is the name of the domestic violence shelter in Missoula?
The Meadowlark, which is located by the Good Food Store. The building has a domestic violence wing (run by the YWCA), a family homeless shelter (run jointly by the YWCA and Family Promise), and on-site offices and resources.
CASAs are often called the "___ and ___" of the court in a DN matter
The eyes and ears! CASAs are tasked with representing the best interest of the child(ren) they work with, as the Judge cannot know the ins and outs of every DN case without CASAs and their reports.
What year was CASA of Missoula founded?
(Bonus questions: what year was the first CASA program founded, and in what city?)
CASA of Missoula was founded in 1994 by a group of community members, including Judge Larson (still on the bench today)
The first CASA program was founded in Seattle in 1977 by a judge looking for guidance on what was in abused and neglect children's best interests as he made decisions impacting their lives in the foster system.
TRUE OR FALSE: the Missoula Food Bank requires verification of income levels before community members can get assistance
FALSE: The Food Bank is open to anyone who comes to their door in need, no documentation or ID needed
The CASA staff sends out an email blast with resources, trainings, reminders, volunteer shoutouts, and more, usually every Wednesday. What is this email blast called?
The Weekly Update! Be sure to open that email to stay up to date on community resources, best practices for CASA volunteers, open cases, shoutouts, and more.
(Shoutout to Jessie for sending information we're including in the Update later this week!)
Missoula County has one of two ICWA courts in the state to handle those specific DN cases (the other is in Yellowstone County). What does ICWA stand for?
Indian Child Welfare Act. Standing Master Bourguignon presides over these cases of families affiliated with a specific federally-recognized tribe, and the parties (including CASAs) work as a team to keep families together and children connected to their tribe and culture as much as possible.
Mountain Home Montana is a service many parents in CASA cases utilize. What is the criteria for participating?
To be a young mother! They serve pregnant and parenting women ages 16-29 with both residential and outpatient services.
TRUE OR FALSE: CASAs are not allowed to transport the children they advocate for.
FALSE. Volunteers can transport their CASA kids, but only once officially approved. Additionally, we ask that you don't transport kids to appoints, visits with parents, etc— leave that to the placement and CFS. CASAs can do things like take the kiddo to the park or to get ice cream in order to have a chance for them to talk and open up.
Which CASA staff member runs "Volunteer Voices" our monthly group aimed at creating a space for our volunteers to connect, share experiences, and improve our program?
Maya Gilliam! Email maya@casamissoula.org if you ever want to join a meeting, or keep an eye out in the Weekly Update for info on the next meeting (Our March meeting is 3/23 at 5pm at Great Burn Brewing)
Shodair Children's Hospital is the only inpatient psychiatric hospital for young children in the state of Montana. Which city is it located in?
Helena. Shodair also has outpatient services throughout the state, including in Missoula.
TRUE OR FALSE: Once shown the CASA Court Order of Appointment, a child's school is required to show CASA volunteers grades and other reports.
TRUE. Sometimes a specific school administrator will be unfamiliar with this, so please reach out to CASA staff if you run into issues.
According to the National CASA standards we follow, CASA volunteers need how many of continuing education hours a year?
12 hours a year. CASA in-service trainings, independent study books/movies, and community events are great examples of continuing education opportunties.
Luckily for us, this training more than covers your 2026 required hours!
The Montana Chafee Foster Care Program serves which group of youth in foster care?
Teens! The criteria includes:
Which celebrity founded the "Imagination Library" for children across the country ages 0-5 to get free books every month?
Dolly Parton ❤️ Through a partnership with United Way, CASA has a shelf of these picture books that volunteers can bring along to visits with the young children they work with. Email margaret@casamissoula.org to arrange to pick up those books to give to your kiddo.
How many children have open DN cases in Missoula and Mineral Counties right now (as of 3/13/26)?
A) 100 B) 110
C) 140 D) 150
C) 140 children.
102 of those children currently have CASAs. Some the rest are classified as lower priority cases (e.g. their case is about to close) and the others are waiting for a volunteer to advocate for them