Marin CASA is seeking to address a critical opportunity to deepen our impact beyond individual case advocacy by advancing systems-level change for foster youth in Marin County. While our volunteers provide essential one-on-one support to youth, we recognize that many of the barriers they face — including challenges in education, housing, transportation, and access to services — are rooted in systemic issues that require policy change.

At the same time, we are mindful of the broader statewide movement among CASA organizations to elevate foster youth advocacy at the legislative level. Marin CASA wants to align with this momentum while developing a local legislative strategy that reflects the unique needs of our community. This moment presents a strategic opportunity to build internal capacity, engage community stakeholders, and become a more visible and effective advocate for the youth we serve.

However, this shift requires thoughtful planning, coalition building, and a roadmap for implementation that aligns with our mission and available resources. The capstone project gives us a unique opportunity to explore this transition from direct service to systems advocacy in a sustainable, coordinated way.

To achieve our goal of becoming a more effective legislative advocate for foster youth in Marin County, Marin CASA anticipates the following key activities and action items:

Conduct a landscape analysis of current foster youth-related legislation, as well as statewide and national CASA policy initiatives, to understand what models exist and where Marin CASA can uniquely contribute.

Analyze local challenges in Marin County related to foster youth — particularly in housing, education, and transportation — and identify opportunities for targeted policy solutions.

Map out stakeholders and potential coalition partners, including government agencies, youth advocacy organizations, and other CASA programs, to build a collaborative advocacy network.

Define a legislative vision for Marin CASA that aligns with our mission and statewide CASA priorities, and is informed by youth needs and local context.

Develop a legislative advocacy strategy that includes policy priorities, community education components, and methods to elevate youth voices.

Create outreach and communications tools, such as talking points, pitch decks, and briefs, to support engagement with policymakers and community partners.

Construct an internal legislative team (staff, board, or volunteers) to support, oversee, and sustain this advocacy work beyond the project period.

Design an implementation roadmap to ensure that the strategy can be activated post-project and lead to tangible policy engagement and impact.

These steps will help build Marin CASA’s capacity to engage in meaningful, aligned, and community-informed legislative advocacy that supports long-term systemic change for foster youth.

Success for this project means that Marin CASA emerges with a clear, actionable, and community-informed strategy for engaging in legislative advocacy that complements our direct service work. It would position us to influence policy decisions that directly impact foster youth in Marin County, while staying aligned with statewide CASA priorities.

 Ultimately, the project will be a success if it helps us begin shifting from reactive, case-by-case advocacy to proactive, systems-level change — while staying grounded in the real needs of the youth we serve.