Case Specialist

Posted: 09/01/2026

Reports To: Manager of Specialists

Supervision Exercised: None

Job Type: Full-time

Application Instructions: Apply online [here](https://casakc.bamboohr.com/careers/34?source=aWQ9MjI%3D) . Please provide a resume and cover letter that helps us understand your motivation, values, and readiness for this position. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. No phone calls or emails, please.

Jackson County CASA (C ourt A ppointed S pecial A dvocates) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that mobilizes community volunteers to advocate for children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect and are under the jurisdiction of the Jackson County Family Court. Our clients face multiple risks, including permanent separation from their birth families due to factors such as substance use disorders, untreated mental health, and intimate partner violence. These challenges are often rooted in poverty, community violence, and intergenerational trauma.

To mitigate these risks, CASA Volunteer Advocates and staff engage in fact-finding and relationship-building with child clients to assess their needs and make informed recommendations to the court. Collaboration with children and their families is a core value of our work and is essential to achieving effective advocacy and just outcomes within a complex child welfare system.

Our model is simple: each child is assigned a rigorously screened and extensively trained Volunteer Advocate or Case Specialist and Staff Attorney who work together to represent the child's best interests and individualized advocacy grounded in evidence-based practices. Together, they help ensure the best possible outcomes for children and increase the likelihood of safe family reunification.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Working closely with Jackson County CASA’s Staff Attorneys, the Case Specialist is responsible for the immediate engagement with child clients newly appointed to the agency and the preliminary investigation into their circumstances. Pending the assignment of a Volunteer Advocate, the Case Specialist will provide initial and on-going case support to children represented by the agency to ensure that those children receive the highest quality of service and representation, including advocating for timely services and family-based permanency.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Case Initiation

• Completes an immediate and thorough investigation of the case and explores the child’s circumstances to ensure safety while minimizing disruption to the child’s world.
• Meets with the child as early as possible after appointment to introduce CASA and the court process in a developmentally appropriate way, assess their decision-making capacity, ascertain their wishes regarding placement/family time/participation in services, and gather other information to understand their perspective and how decisions will impact their experience.
• Engages with the child welfare agency, family members, parents, and others to establish a working relationship, collect all available information about the child and family, and identify additional information sources for further investigation.
• Formulates recommendations regarding placement, family time, and immediate service needs for the child, parents, and family to present at the initial court hearing.
• Ensures seamless transfer of the case to the on-going CASA team by providing an overview of the case, review of information gathered and documents prepared, and direction on further investigation needed.

Case Support

• Develops a trusting, professional relationship with clients through regular contact to determine their wishes and evaluate their circumstances. Contact may take place in multiple settings to best observe and document the child’s living situation, developmental progress, educational needs, and emotional well-being.
• Communicates regularly with the child’s Family Support Team, including family, social service workers, therapists, educators, and medical professionals, to collect the information needed to make recommendations regarding the child’s best interest.
• Attends and actively participates in case-related meetings, including 72 Hour Meetings, Team Decision Making Meetings, Stability Staffings, and Family Support Team meetings, and other collateral matters (e.g., IEP meetings).
• Reviews case documentation to assist with determining client well-being. Reports findings to the Staff Attorney assigned to the case.
• Communicates regularly with staff attorneys, both verbally and in writing, with relevant information concerning the child and the case.
• Monitors court orders and advocates for the implementation of timely and necessary services for clients.
• Becomes familiar with community resources and links the child and their family to resources specific to their needs.
• Maintains a sense of urgency for getting children and their families to safety in their permanent home and diligently invests in the child’s well-being.