About - CASA of Jefferson County

together we will

The mission of CASA of Jefferson County is to be the voice for children who have been victims of abuse and/or neglect. Our Vision is to serve every child in the Jefferson County by providing them with a caring and competent trained volunteer.

CASA of Jefferson County

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Jefferson County will provide abused, neglected or abandoned children with a highly trained volunteer to advocate for the child’s best interest before family courts in Jefferson County. Our volunteers will be recruited, screened and trained by paid staff. Our staff and volunteers will then work in conjunction with the judges, lawyers, and social workers to help ensure children receive appropriate care and support while navigating the court, child welfare, and foster care systems.

Volunteer training and
continuing education

Public awareness
efforts

Legislative and
governmental advocacy

CASA of Jefferson County is 1/20 counties in the state of Alabama that serve abused and neglected children in their communities.

You can help Change A Child’s Story with CASA of Jefferson County.

GET INVOLVED

History

1977

In 1977, Judge David Soukup, a Seattle juvenile court judge, was concerned that there was too little information available to base life-changing decisions about the safety, permanency and well-being of children. To address this problem, he conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. A CASA pilot program was formed to recruit and train community volunteers based on Judge Soukup’s idea.

1982

In 1982, the national CASA Association was established to direct CASA’s emerging national presence. From that first program has grown a network of nearly 1,000 CASA and guardian ad litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the history of the CASA movement.

CASA History »

1993–1997

On September 24, 1993, representatives from the then three local CASA programs (Jefferson, Madison, and Shelby) met and voted to establish a formal Alabama State CASA Network. As a result, the Alabama CASA Network, Inc. was incorporated in 1997.

Today

Today, CASA of Jefferson County has 82 volunteers. In 2019, we served 396 children.

Leadership

Board of Directors

President
Caroline Drummond
Community Volunteer

Vice President
Suzanne Ashe
Community Volunteer

Treasurer
Alex LaGanke
Alabama Appleseed

Secretary
Katy Ottensmeyer
Maynard Cooper & Gayle P.C.

Finance Committee
Drew Barnett
Belt & Bruner PC

Finance Committee
Sherri Thrasher
Protective Life Insurance

Executive Director
Lindsay Landrum, MNM

Lindsay brings experiences from working in the non-profit sector for over 11 years. She previously worked with homeless youth, adults and families who also experienced mental health issues and substance dependency. Lindsay recently moved to the Birmingham area with her husband and 2 kids from Sioux City, IA where she was the Director of The Warming Shelter for almost 3 years. While in Iowa, Lindsay and her husband, Sean, became foster parents and adopted their 2 kids.

Lindsay grew up in Albuquerque, NM where most of her family still resides. She received her Bachelor’s in Criminology with a minor in Psychology from the University of New Mexico in 2013. Shortly after, she moved to Denver, CO to pursue her work in nonprofits and continue her education. She received her Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in 2017. She has a real passion for CASA and the children that we serve and is committed to advocating and making a difference in their lives.

In her downtime, Lindsay likes to spend time with her family, reading a good book, or continuing to grow her knowledge in trauma and mental health. Lindsay and her husband, Sean, are avid football fans of the Cleveland Browns and THE Ohio State Buckeyes…OH-IO!

To contact her, please email lindsaylandrum@alabamacasa.org.

Bessemer Division Staff

Program Coordinator
Lindsey Evans

Lindsey has been with CASA of Jefferson County since 2008. She volunteered for nine years and became staff as an Advocate Coordinator in the Birmingham Division in January of 2017. She was later promoted to the position of Program Manager in the Bessemer Division in October of 2017. Lindsey is now the Co-Executive Director in the Bessemer Division of CASA of Jefferson County. She is a mother of one, a nine-year-old boy. She and her son live in the Bessemer Cut-Off in Jefferson County. Lindsey is committed to helping the children of CASA of Jefferson County and works diligently to help each child assigned to CASA make their way through the system as quickly as possible and into a safe, loving and permanent home.

To contact her, please email lindsey@alabamacasa.org.

Birmingham Division Staff

Program Coordinator
Leilany Noel, LMSW

Leilany has been with CASA of Jefferson County since January 2020. She started as an Advocate Coordinator and was recently promoted to her current position of Program Coordinator. She continues to work alongside advocates, court officials, and other community stakeholders throughout the county to ensure that children’s voices are heard. She is a two time honor graduate from Troy University with a Master’s in Social Work. She is currently a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) for the state of Alabama and Georgia and currently supervises all interns. Leilany’s passion for child welfare has led to programmatic advances to better understand trauma associated behavior among the population she serves.

Outside of CASA of Jefferson County, Leilany enjoys traveling and spending time with friends, family, and her sorority sisters of Delta Sigma Theta.

To contact her, please email lnoel@alabamacasa.org.