Canopy Center Inc

Casa of dane and columbia counties pairs community-based volunteers who have been rigorously screened and trained with children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect and are under the protection of the courts. Casa staff support volunteers in providing best-interest, individualized (1:1) advocacy. This is done through weekly visits, regular reports filed with the court, and attendance at court hearings. Judges depend on casa to help them make the most well-informed decisions regarding the child's safety and security. In 2024, 117 children were provided with 1,931 hours of service utilizing 56 volunteers.

Parent-to-child offers safe, supervised visitation for families with child in need of protective services (chips) cases, on evenings and weekends. The goal of this program is to ensure children are safe, and to help parents develop the skills needed to positively parent their children - in effect breaking the intergenerational cycle of abuse and neglect. Professionally trained staff and volunteers provide parent education and coaching, observation, documentation and intervention, when necessary. In 2024, the program provided 798.75 hours of service to 47 individuals as part of 31 families.