The CASA Voice - June 2025

89th Legislative Session, National Disability Month Spotlight and More.

With the Governor’s veto deadline behind us, the 89th Regular Legislative Session has officially concluded. Thanks to the Texas CASA Public Policy Team and CASA legislative advocates across the state, we moved forward on multiple fronts with new laws, critical funding and long-overdue accountability measures that will make a difference for children and families. 

This session, we championed SB 2165, so courts can no longer dismiss a child’s case just because they’ve gone missing or ran away. We advocated for SB 1398, which strengthens oversight of Community-Based Care and gives communities a formal voice in the process. We pushed for HB 4655 , which expands the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) curriculum and adds real-life financial tools like credit score education, budgeting guidance and fraud prevention — something our young adults have needed for a long time. 

There’s more: HB 694 speeds up notifications to parents, CASA and other legal parties on CPS cases. HB 1211 gives youth who have aged out of care more time — until age 27 — to lock in their tuition waiver. And HB 908 ensures law enforcement acts fast when a child goes missing.

Read the full message from our CEO to hear about our funding priorities, Community-Based Care bills and what's next.

Local CASA Program Spotlight: National Disability Month

In honor of National Disability Month, we are sharing a story from CASA of Denton County Advocacy Manager Meme Collins-Tabuena. This is a special story about two brothers, one with a disability and one without, who are reunited with the steadfast support of CASA. Read how Meme and CASA Volunteer Carol Chambers advocated to bring these two brothers back together despite the barriers and after years of separation.

Studio 512 Features Texas CASA

To round up the Foster Care Month in May, Texas CASA's Fund Development Director Collin Acock and Collaborative Family Engagement Director Catherine Herlich joined Studio 512 I KXAN Austin to continue our advocacy for children and families in the child protection system. They discussed who Texas CASA serves, what does volunteering look like, why there is a shift in foster care cases and how you can help. Check out the recap article here and the full interview in the link below.

Save the Date: P.F. Chang’s Dine to Donate supporting CASA Wednesday, August 6

Mark your calendars! Our wonderful friends at P.F. Chang’s are hosting a Dine to Donate day on Wednesday, August 6, at all locations in Texas, supporting Texas CASA and the local CASA programs in their area.

Enjoy incredible food and support our great cause! You can find the nearest P.F. Chang’s location HERE.

Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) Success Story

Here is a recent Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) success story shared by Executive Director Clint Hocutt, CASA for Kids (Paris, TX): "About a year ago, a CASA volunteer completed the Circles of Trust activity with two children first entering foster care," Clint says. "At that time, they did not have many caring, supportive people in their circles. However, the CASA volunteer recently completed the same activity with the children again, and when comparing it with the original Circles of Trust, the children were amazed! In just one year, many more people had been added! The children were so proud of how many connections they had developed over the past year. "

Thank you, Shield-Ayres Foundation!

Texas CASA is honored to share that we have received a $15,000 grant from Shield-Ayres Foundation. We are deeply grateful for Shield-Ayres Foundation’s support in expanding our services to local CASA programs, pursuing special initiatives and providing public education.

Learn more about how you can support the Texas CASA mission in the link below.