Assembly Concurrent Resolution ACR 26 designates February 6, 2025, as ‘‘CASA Appreciation Day’’ in California and formally recognizes the role of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers for children in the state’s foster care system. The text collects findings about foster-care caseloads and volunteer contributions, then asks the Assembly Chief Clerk to transmit copies of the resolution for distribution.
Substantively the measure is symbolic: it imposes no duties on agencies, creates no funding streams, and does not amend statute. Its practical effect is limited to public recognition and potential visibility gains for CASA programs and their partners, which can matter for fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and local outreach even though it does not change legal authorities or budgets.
At a Glance
What It Does
The resolution states findings about the state’s foster-care population and CASA activity, declares February 6, 2025, as CASA Appreciation Day in California, and directs the Assembly Chief Clerk to transmit copies to the author for distribution. It contains no operative mandates, appropriations, or regulatory changes.
Who It Affects
CASA programs, volunteer advocates, child welfare nonprofits, and judges who appoint CASA volunteers are the primary audiences; county child welfare agencies and state departments are mentioned only as context and receive no new legal obligations. The Legislature formally records statistics and the organization’s mission and vision.
Why It Matters
Even without legal force, a legislative recognition can boost visibility for CASA organizations, assist local fundraising and recruitment efforts, and shape public framing of foster-care advocacy. For compliance officers and program managers, the resolution signals legislative attention but not new programmatic requirements.
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What This Bill Actually Does
ACR 26 assembles a set of ‘‘whereas’’ findings about children in foster care and the role of CASA volunteers, including specific statewide figures for foster children and volunteer hours. The resolution sets out the CASA mission and vision in its prefatory language and frames CASA volunteers as court-appointed officers who represent children’s interests in juvenile court proceedings.
The operative text is two short ‘‘resolved’’ clauses: the first declares February 6, 2025, as CASA Appreciation Day in California; the second directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to send copies of the resolution to the author for distribution. The bill’s digest also notes there is no fiscal committee referral, indicating an absence of fiscal impact or budgetary directive.There are no operative requirements placed on courts, counties, state agencies, or private organizations.
The resolution does not create reporting duties, funding authorizations, or regulatory changes. Its utility lies in symbolic recognition that can be used by CASA programs, courts, and advocates to promote events, volunteer recruitment, and fundraising.Practically, the resolution could prompt local CASA chapters and allied nonprofits to coordinate activities around the declared date and to cite legislative recognition in outreach materials.
That said, the bill includes no mechanism to measure whether the recognition translated into increased volunteer capacity, improved outcomes for children, or additional resources for the child welfare system.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The resolution declares February 6, 2025, as CASA Appreciation Day in California.
It cites that approximately 67,229 California children were living in foster care (figure presented in the text).
The text records that in 2023, 8,012 CASA volunteers supported 11,261 foster children and contributed 379,672 hours.
ACR 26 is ceremonial: it contains no statutory mandates, appropriations, regulatory changes, or enforcement mechanisms, and the Legislative Counsel’s digest notes no fiscal committee referral.
The resolution directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit copies to the author for appropriate distribution.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Findings and factual statements about foster care and CASA activity
The preamble collects a sequence of factual claims and policy premises: the number of children in foster care, the role of judges, and the mission and vision of CASA. Those statements serve as the bill’s rationale and provide legislators a recorded narrative framing CASA volunteers as critical supports for children in juvenile court. In practical terms this language is evidentiary and persuasive—useful for advocacy and public messaging—but it creates no enforceable obligations.
Declaration of CASA Appreciation Day
This single operative clause formally recognizes February 6, 2025, as CASA Appreciation Day in California. As a concurrent resolution, the declaration expresses the collective view of the Legislature but does not amend the Government Code or obligate state agencies. The clause can be relied upon by organizers and CASA programs as a legislative endorsement when planning events or outreach tied to that date.
Transmission instruction to the Assembly Chief Clerk
The resolution instructs the Chief Clerk to transmit copies of the resolution to the author for distribution. This is an administrative, ministerial direction that ensures the text reaches stakeholders and the public; it is not a funding or implementation mandate. The cost and logistics of distribution fall within routine legislative operations and do not create statutory duties for other branches or localities.
Nonfiscal, nonbinding legislative record
The Legislative Counsel’s digest and the bill’s fiscal notation explicitly indicate no fiscal committee review and no appropriation. That annotation confirms the resolution’s ceremonial character and helps readers understand that the Legislature did not intend to attach budgetary or regulatory consequences to the declaration. For auditors and budget officers, this is confirmation that the measure does not alter budget baselines.
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Who Benefits
- CASA programs and affiliates — They gain a formal, state-level endorsement they can cite in outreach, which can help with local fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and media visibility without requiring legal or financial commitments from the state.
- CASA volunteers — The public recognition acknowledges their service and can boost morale, aid volunteer retention, and support award or appreciation events organized by local programs.
- Child-welfare nonprofits and local advocates — Organizations that partner with CASA can use the resolution in joint campaigns and to leverage attention from donors or community partners.
- Judges and juvenile court staff — The resolution underscores the perceived value of CASA input in court proceedings, which may strengthen judicial reliance on volunteer reports and influence local practices around appointing advocates.
Who Bears the Cost
- Assembly administrative staff (Chief Clerk) — They handle distribution of copies; the task is routine but requires minimal staff time and postage or electronic dissemination resources.
- Local CASA chapters and nonprofits — If they choose to organize events or campaigns tied to the declared day, they incur the costs of events, outreach, and volunteer coordination without any new state funding provided by the resolution.
- County child welfare agencies — They face potential increases in volunteer inquiries or requests for partnership that may require staff time to onboard or coordinate, again with no additional funding mandated.
- Advocates and fundraisers — While they benefit from the endorsement, they may also face pressure to convert recognition into measurable outcomes, creating expectations for program expansion or service metrics that carry operational costs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The resolution balances two legitimate aims—public recognition of volunteer advocates and the practical need for systemic resources—by endorsing CASA without committing funds or policy changes, leaving advocates with visibility but no guaranteed increase in capacity or statutory support.
The core limitation of ACR 26 is its purely symbolic nature. The resolution records findings and offers legislative recognition, but it includes no funding, performance measures, or implementation timeline.
That makes it useful for messaging but ineffective as a lever for addressing capacity gaps in the child welfare system. If advocates rely on the resolution to claim state support, they may find that the political cover does not translate into appropriations or statutory change.
The bill also risks creating mismatched expectations. Local CASA programs can cite the Legislature’s recognition to solicit volunteers and donations, but the increased attention may outpace training, supervision, or county intake processes.
The resolution cites specific numbers (children in foster care, volunteer hours), but those figures are snapshots that require context—caseload complexity, turnover, and geographic variability all affect how much impact extra volunteers actually produce. Finally, singling out CASA as the model to celebrate could sideline conversation about broader system reforms (staffing, licensing, services) that require legislative or budgetary action rather than symbolic recognition.
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