I have created this portfolio to showcase the work that I accomplished during my semester in HMSV 440W. The course is setup to provide a realistic learning experience to the students. In order to meet the objectives of the course I had to go outside of my comfort zone and find a program to evaluate. I chose to evaluate the Rappahannock Area CASA program, located in Fredericksburg, VA. The CASA program provides trained volunteers to advocate for children who have been abused or neglected by their parents. Once trained, the CASA volunteer is assigned by the agency to represent a child throughout the entire court process. Most of the children that are served by the program are in foster care, however, some are at home under protective orders. The CASA volunteers are responsible for investigating the children’s lives. They do this in order to make recommendations for potential caregivers to judges; as well as recommendations for what the children need and where they can safely live. The basic requirements for being a CASA volunteer are: to be at least 21, have good interpersonal and communication skills, commit to serving for 12-18 months, pass background checks, and have a desire to help kids.