CASA, Inc.

Among CASA’s top priorities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Northern Virginia are the following:
• Immigrant families are economically secure and healthy.
• Immigrant families and youth have high-quality education and the support they need to be successful.
• Immigrants are protected and live in thriving local communities.

CASA directly addresses racial disparities in the areas of employment, education, housing, and asset building through a comprehensive array of programs that include services, education, and organizing/advocacy.

Our strategies are driven by our values. We believe in self-agency; in recognizing, enhancing, and celebrating our diversity; and in working in solidarity towards the goals of racial equity and economic justice. The following is a list of strategies and anticipated outcomes, broken down by program focus area.
Family Economic Success –
• Workforce Development and Vocational Training: Members are employed in family-supporting jobs.
• Adult Education: Members obtain skills that support job attainment and career advancement.
• Naturalization Support: Members obtain citizenship.
• Financial Education and Assistance: Members make positive changes to financial behaviors.
• Affordable Housing: Members live in stable and affordable housing.

Education and Youth Success –
• Teacher-Parent Connections: School administrators, teachers and staff actively advocate for immigrant student success.
• Community Schools; Afterschool Enrichment Programs and College/Career Readiness: Immigrant students graduate from high school prepared for college and/or career.
• Youth Leadership Development: Immigrant

CASA provides a comprehensive range of services focused on financial independence and social, linguistic and political integration, coupled with a robust community organizing program that enables low-income immigrants to challenge the systems that prevent them from achieving full economic and social well-being. These services fill a critical niche in the health and human services delivery system in Montgomery County by serving as one-stop locations for low-income limited English proficient residents to access linguistically- and culturally-appropriate services and programs specifically designed to meet their needs. This includes several programs that CASA implements with support from DHHS, including its social services program, job placement services, naturalization and financial literacy support, multilingual health information and referral hotline, and more. In the past, CASA also served as a selected navigator organization under the Affordable Care Act roll-out grant managed by DHHS. Finally, across its programming, CASA also provides clients with screening and intricate cross-referrals to a variety of social service and health programs in Montgomery County for which they are eligible.

CASA currently has seven offices in Maryland (four of which are in Montgomery County), two in northern Virginia, and one in Pennsylvania. CASA’s members – more than 96,000 strong – are low-income immigrants, the majority of whom come from Latin America and West Africa and speak Spanish or French as their first language. CASA is specifically focused on achieving impact in the key areas of economic success, stable and thriving lifestyles, and neighborhood transformation.

Through our core services in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, we achieved the following in FY18:
• Workers earned over $3M in income for their families through placement in 11,147 daily, 176 temporary, and 143 permanent jobs.
• 802 workers completed vocational training courses. Among a sample of vocational graduates at our Rockville Center, 100% demonstrated learning gains through pre- and post-testing, and 66% reported current employment or increase in income.
• 1,239 members received basic financial education and counseling; 996 members made and maintained positive changes to their financial behaviors; and 758 members built financial assets.
• 427 members opened a bank account and 332 members received assistance in applying for an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). Through our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, we assisted 621 people in filing income tax returns.
• 4,955 members received a case management assessment and were matched with an appropriate healthcare or social service provider.
• 1,597 members received medical interpretation assistance while interacting with their healthcare provider.
• 704 unduplicated students participated in Life Skills ESOL courses. 92% of surveyed students demonstrated learning gains during post-testing; and 77% reported increased communication with their bosses, coworkers, and customers following the course.
• 269 workers participated in drop-in workforce ESOL classes. 90% of surveyed students reported an increased confidence in their ability to communicate with law enforcement including understanding cultural norms, being aware of immigrant rights and knowing how to report a crime.