Court Appointed Special Advocates
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.756
- Agency
-
Office of Justice Programs
Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 8 $115,166,327 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- CASA
- Assistance type
-
- Cooperative Agreement
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0404-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention funds training, technical assistance, membership, accreditation, and subgrants to court-appointed special advocate (CASA) organizations under CFDA 16.756, with a due date of September 30, 2026 for the current invited-to-apply opportunity.
This program supports activities that ensure abused and neglected children involved in dependency court proceedings have access to a court-appointed special advocate. Recent awards fund the National CASA Association to provide training and technical assistance to the network of 941 state and local CASA/GAL programs operating in 49 states and the District of Columbia, which together recruit, train, and supervise approximately 88,000 volunteers serving over 227,000 children. Funded activities include volunteer recruitment and training (including a new family-centered pre-service curriculum), revision of accreditation standards toward outcomes-oriented measures, expansion of local CASA programs into underserved jurisdictions, and demonstration projects for capacity building and service delivery innovation. The program also supports youth and family engagement initiatives and grants management infrastructure.
All eight awards in the portfolio are Cooperative Agreements. The Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention accounts for five awards totaling $88.9 million in federal dollars obligated; the broader Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs accounts for three additional awards totaling $26.3 million, for a combined federal obligation of $115.2 million. The program has awarded grants in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024, at a cadence of roughly one award per three to four years until the most recent cycle.
Two awards closed on October 1, 2024: a $8.87 million cooperative agreement supporting training and volunteer curriculum development, and a $16.47 million cooperative agreement providing nearly $13 million in subawards to state and local CASA organizations for program growth, volunteer recruitment, and strategic planning. An earlier award to National CASA Association (October 1, 2021, $11.17 million) supported training, technical assistance, membership, and accreditation through September 30, 2026.
The current solicitation (O-OJJDP-2026-172764) is an "Invited to Apply" mechanism posted September 22, 2026, with a September 30, 2026 due date, seeking one organization to carry out CASA training, technical assistance, and subgrants activities. The 2024 opportunity (posted July 1, 2024, due August 1, 2024) was open to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, non-501(c)(3) nonprofits, and public and private higher education institutions; the 2023 opportunity was broader, accepting nonprofits, small businesses, for-profit organizations, and higher education institutions.
Objective and description
- Objective
Program goal(s): Ensure youth have court appointed representation Program goal(s) description: To improve outcomes for children in the foster care system by providing membership and accreditation subgrants to regional, state, and local CASA organizat
- Description
This program supports activities designed to ensure abused and neglected children involved in dependency court proceedings have access to a court appointed special advocate.
Eligibility
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Length and time phasing of assistance vary by project-see applicable program announcement. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/release: DOJ Grants Financial Guide at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/overview
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for selecting proposals is determined as part of the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
All final award decisions will be made by the Assistant Attorney General, unless a statute explicitly authorizes award decisions by another official or there is written delegation of authority to another official. For successful applicants, JustGrants will send a system-generated email to the Application Submitter, Authorized Representative, and Entity Administrator with information on accessing their official award package in JustGrants. The award package will include key information (such as funding amount and period of performance) as well as award conditions that must be followed. The Authorized Representative for the entity should accept or decline the award within 45 days of the notification.
- Time to approval or disapproval
The review procedure for applications is specified in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and generally includes eligibility and responsiveness, merit, programmatic, budget, and risk reviews.
- Renewals
In some cases, award periods may be extended if specific criteria are met. For details, please review the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section of the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide available at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguidedoj/overview
- Appeals
There are no appeal rights for the denial of a discretionary application.
Grant opportunities
Grant awards
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Casa Association | $115,166,327 | 100% |
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2024 | $25,337,895 |
| FY2022 | $11,171,647 |
| FY2020 | $10,811,655 |
| FY2019 | $10,696,017 |
| FY2018 | $10,620,644 |
| FY2017 | $7,214,922 |
| FY2016 | $7,806,380 |
| FY2015 | $5,223,058 |
| FY2013 | $9,239,472 |
| FY2010 | $14,843,798 |
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.756?
Assistance Listing 16.756 is Court Appointed Special Advocates, a federal grant program run by Office of Justice Programs (Department of Justice).
What is the CFDA number for Court Appointed Special Advocates?
Its CFDA number is 16.756: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.756 awarded?
8 grant awards under 16.756 have obligated $115,166,327 in federal funds to 1 recipient.
Who receives the most funding from 16.756?
The recipients obligated the most under Court Appointed Special Advocates are National Casa Association ($115,166,327).
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.756?
No opportunity listed under 16.756 is open now. The latest, OJJDP FY 2026 Invited to Apply - Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Training, Technical Assistance, and Subgrants Program, was posted on September 22, 2026.
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